Upgrade
by Brother Brain
Summary: Years ago, the Enoema began a super soldier program, with unfortunate results. A single prototype was let loose on the galaxy, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake. Now the program is being reactivated, forcing unlikely allies to work together to prevent its success. Set between Echoes and Corruption.
1. Chapter 1

_Kaskara_ station floated silently above planet ZTSH-9267467, a planet so remote it didn't have a name. Sensor arrays glared out into the void as automated defense systems scanned for signs of spacecraft. While the station had once been a formidable military bastion, the collapse of the government that once controlled it left it to be salvaged by an amalgam of criminal groups. Now it was the heart of all illegal enterprises in the system. Assassins and mercenaries mixed with crime lords and gangs while common criminals swarmed through every part of the craft, creating an intricate hierarchy of crime. Only the insane, desperate, or very stupid would set foot on the station while working with a government.

Samus Aran was none of those things, but that didn't stop her. "So guess what this idiot does?" she asked of the Phrygisian walking long side her. Rundas paused in mock contemplation. "Hmmmm. I'd say he draws a gun on you, but no one would be that stupid." "Incorrect!" Samus responded grinning widely, "He does exactly that."

Rundas spread his arms. "Then I rest my case. No one is that stupid."

"I just said he did."

"Ah, but dead people aren't included in anyone."

Samus laughed and punched him in the shoulder. "I couldn't kill him, I was hired to protect him"

Rundas nodded slowly. "In that case, I assume he's now learning to drink all his food."

Samus rolled her eyes. "Not all of us resort to violence. Some of us have patience and negotiation in our skill sets."

"True, but we're not talking about Ghor."

Samus was going to respond when a hand clamped onto her shoulder. "Hold on a minute." She told Rundas. She turned around to find a tall reptilian being with a single eye behind her. All of those features were less important than the pistol he was pointing at her. "Creds. Give them to me."

Rundas stepped up behind Samus. "I don't think the pretty lady wants to talk to you." He leaned down and whispered to Samus. "Are you pretty? I can't really tell." She shrugged. "I think so. Growing up with a different species screws with your ideals."

"Shut up!" yelled the mugger. The passerby didn't bother to turn and look. This sort of thing was every day business. "I don't want no mouth from you or your muscle here."

Rundas laughed. "I'm the muscle? No, I'm the poor defenseless passerby. She's the muscle."

"I don't care!" he yelled back, "Just give me your credits and I won't give you a hole in your gut!"

The two bounty hunters were quiet for a moment. "Ten credits says you can take him without your suit." Rundas said casually.

Samus looked over her shoulder at him. She was currently in her blue flight suit. While she had modified it, it was still far less useful than her armor, which was currently stored in energy form. "Only ten?"

"I know better than to bet against you. Twenty if you leave him alive."

"What about the pistol?"

"An extra five if you don't use yours."

"That's it!" yelled the mugger. He aimed the pistol at Samus and pulled the trigger. The bolt flew through empty air as she stepped inside his reach. She locked his arm under hers and brought her knee up into his elbow. He screamed as the joint bent in ways nature didn't intend. She released the mangled limb and punched him in the eye. He staggered back screaming, only to fall to the deck as she scythed his legs out from under him. Before he could recover, Samus leapt into the air and brought an elbow down on his stomach.

Rundas and Samus walked away from the vomiting mugger like nothing had happened. "I believe you owe me twenty five credits." Samus said with a grin. Rundas shrugged. "I just got paid, I can afford it. Though I'm not sure you need it if you got his pistol."

Samus smiled and held up the would-be mugger's pistol. "So you saw that?"

"No" he said, "But I know you. Did you take his credits too?"

"He was smart enough to not keep them on him."

"Pity. You could have shown pity on me and given me the credits."

"You wish."

They spent the next several hours strolling the ship, swapping stories, and getting drinks. Eventually Rundas got a message that he was needed for a job and had to leave. Samus finished her purchase of a targeting system upgrade and headed back to her ship soon after.

* * *

The hangar had once been meant to hold and launch entire squadrons of fighters at once. Now its wide open space had been hastily cut apart and rebuild to serve as a space port for the wide variety of craft that came to the station. Samus wove through the various passengers and pilots as she made her way to the platform she left her ship on. Normally ships left unguarded were stolen or stripped for parts but the security measures built into hers ensured it would remain intact.

She turned the corner to the platform and stopped short. Her ship was there, perfectly intact. It was the figure next to it that caught her attention. Two meters tall, its bright green musculature uncovered between segments of dark armor and four glowing eyes peering out of its face. There were a dozen other being she had passed on the way to her ship that looked stranger, but this one was distinctive because she knew it. Kanden.

Samus activated her armor, its heavy plates flashing into existence and clamping shut around her. Kanden saw the flash out of the corner of his eyes and turned from where he had been inspecting her ship, only to be met by a missile to the face. He staggered back from the surprise attack, allowing Samus to establish a missile lock while he was confused.

Kanden shook off the first blast just in time to see five more missiles streaking towards him. They slammed into him, forcing him back as he tried to orient himself. His blurry vision focused on Samus as she rushed towards him, arm cannon pointed directly at him. He growled as injection implants forced combat drugs into his system. Surprise was confusing to him, but combat he understood.

The Volt Driver slid into place around his forearm, already charging and aiming. Samus activated her jump jets, leaping over the ball of lightning and letting off several shots at Kanden. He shrugged the beams off and retaliated with a barrage of normal shots.

Samus grunted as the shots impacted her, keeping an eye on her shields. She landed on the platform several meters in front of Kanden, rolling to the side behind a crate as she did so. Several shots slammed into the crate and flew around it as Kanden tried to flush her out.

 _Patient. Any moment now…_

She heard Kanden roar in anger, followed by his heavy footsteps rushing towards her. She grinned under her helmet. It was almost too easy. She readied a super missile as she prepared to meet his charge around the crate. She paused as she heard his footsteps stop.

 _What-_

She noticed a shadow appear near her own and dove to the side. A charged ball of lightning hit her as she did, reducing her visor display to static. Kanden slammed into the deck where she had been, leaving a sizable dent.

 _Sneaky bastard's smarter than I gave him credit for._

Samus changed into morph ball mode, narrowly missing the charged shot that flew above her. She darted off through the crates while Kanden fired sporadically. Once she put some distance between them she reverted to normal, snapping her arm cannon up and locking on to Kanden.

Another barrage of missiles jolted his aim and sent him staggering. He howled in anger and shook off the pain. Before Samus could follow up an electric pulse emanated from him, causing lightning to crackle across his body.

A note popped up in Samus's HUD. _Error. Target displays electromagnetic shielding. Missile lock impossible._ "Disable autotargeting." She snapped as Kanden fired back at her. _Autotargeting disabled. Manual aiming engaged._

She aimed at Kanden, who still hadn't taken cover, and fired a super missile. It slammed into him and threw him back into a wall. He dragged himself to his feet, ignoring the beam shots that were slamming into him. He retaliated with a trio of stinger-like missiles. Samus locked onto a nearby crate with her grapple beam and swung it to intercept them, blasting them out of the air.

While she did that Kanden looked around him for anything to give him an advantage. His gaze fell on a power cable running along the wall near him. If he had the necessary mouthparts, he would have smiled.

He punched his hand through an access panel and into the cables. Electricity jumped across his body and towards anything within range. He staggered as a missile hit him in the side, turning his gaze back to Samus. The electricity twisted across him, now being drawn towards the Volt Driver.

 _Oh shi-_

A cluster of lightning bolts leapt from the barrel and hit Samus. Her visor degraded into static as her shields fell rapidly. She collapsed into morph ball and rolled behind a crate. Kanden let out a noise that could have been a laugh and fired on the crate, melting the front half into slag. Behind it, Samus reverted to her normal form as her visor returned to normal.

 _I can't take him out while he's charged up like that, but he won't leave his new snack to come get me._

Another bolt hit the crate, melting more of it and sending a small shock across the surface.

 _Not like that seems to be an issue for him. Although…_

Samus activated her scan visor and looked over the surrounding area. _There._ She grinned under her helmet as she switched to the plasma beam and shot another segment of the cable, melting it in half. Kanden grunted in confusion as his power source cut off.

Samus emerged from behind the crate, strafing him with beam shots and missiles. He roared in anger and charged towards him, firing blindly as he came. Samus backed up slowly, ignoring the inaccurate shots that flew around her. Likewise, Kanden ignored the numerous shots that hit him, howling a wordless battlecry.

 _He may not be a great shot, but if he gets up close he has all the advantages._

Samus looked around her as she backed into a ship. "Engage gravity module!" she commanded her suit as Kanden closed the last few meters. _Gravity module engaged._ She leapt upward as Kanden lunged to seize her.

As he passed under her she flipped so her boots impacted the underside of the ship, the gravity module locking her in place. She launched a pair of missiles at Kanden's back and detached, intending to put some distance between them.

It was a mistake. Kanden leapt at her and they collided in midair. The impact threw Samus off course and sent them both over the edge of the landing platform.

A note appeared at the bottom of her HUD. _30 seconds to impact._ She tried to bring her arm cannon to bear, only for Kanden to force it aside. He didn't seem to care that they were falling, intent only on the fight. His other fist slammed into Samus's helmet, snapping her head back.

She tried again to aim at him, but without anything to brace against she couldn't break out of his grip. _20 seconds to impact._ She slammed her fist into his side but he ignored it. He punched her head again and again, then brought both hands down on her head in an attempt to crush her skull.

The blow fractured the visor but failed to cave in the helmet. Before she could tumble out of reach he seized her head in both hands, squeezing to crush it as electricity poured from his hands into her suit. _10 seconds to impact._ Her shields were falling alarmingly fast, but her cannon was now free.

She pressed it into his side and fired of a trio of point blank plasma beam shots. He howled as the energy melted through his armor and into his flesh, his grip on her head loosening. _5 seconds to impact._ She brought her arms up between his and forced them apart, breaking his hold. Her left hand shot out to clamp onto his chest plate as the thrusters on her back fired. She brought up her legs to brace against Kanden's chest while he tried to aim at her head, ignorant of the impending impact.

They slammed into the lower decks of the hangar, causing a large crater. Samus leapt backwards off her unwilling crash-cushion and fired an ice beam shot at his head. As she landed, the wounded and blinded Kanden stirred, trying to drag himself up right. Before he could right himself, Samus locked onto him with her grapple beam and spun.

Kanden was dragged out of the crater and thrown through the air, slamming into and collapsing the cockpit of a ship. As he fell to the deck, a super missile intercepted him and sent him tumbling across the ground. Even with such grievous injuries he began to right himself, the plates of his chest creaking as they bent back into proper shape.

Samus stalked towards him, arm cannon raised. Kanden looked up at her and went to stand, only for his leg to collapse under him. A missile shot stopped him from aiming at her, forcing him back to the ground. Samus appraised him for a minute as he already began to stir and shifted her aim.

A series of missiles and plasma beam shots struck a support column, melting and obliterating its connections. When it was sufficiently weakened she locked onto it with the grapple beam and pulled it towards Kanden. He had just enough time to look up and see it before it slammed into him.

Samus strode over to the rubble, waving the dust aside. Kanden's head and arm were uncovered, but the rest was trapped beneath the debris. He looked up at her and tried to raise his arm. Samus's boot slammed down on it, pinning it to the ground. She shoved her arm cannon into his face and charged a plasma shot.

"So who hired you?" she asked. "Space Pirates? Some gang? Or did you just decide to come kill me yourself?" Kanden growled and looked up at her, squinting past the glare of her cannon. "Not… here to… kill you." he spat in mangled Common. "I need… your help."

Samus blinked in surprise. _Well… shit._

* * *

AN: First off, if you're reading this story because you followed me as an author while waiting for my other story, sorry about that. That one ahs some issues I'll explain in the next chapter that make writing it a bit difficult.

If not, hooray for new readers! Two things to address about this story. One: The scene in the beginning with Rundas was not intended to be a date. If you wish to interpret it as such, go ahead. Two: The reason Kanden has all that stuff he didn't in the game is because I figured Samus isn't the only one who adds to her arsenal. The extent of his upgrades will be explored later.


	2. Chapter 2

Samus tilted her head in confusion. "You want my help?" Kanden nodded. "Yes," he spat, "As much… as it hurts me."

Samus raised an eyebrow and looked over her trapped opponent. _In more ways than one._ "How do I know this isn't a trick?" she asked suspiciously, "You attacked me."

"You shot first." Kanden said.

Samus hesitated. He was right, but that didn't mean he was telling the truth. "What would you want my help with? The last time we met, we tried to kill each other. And every other time before that."

Kanden growled and looked around. "Not here." He said in what was probably meant to be a whisper.

Samus looked up from him to see a crowd had gathered. Most were just gawkers, but she could see the glint of weapons on some of them.

"Fine," she said, de-charging her arm cannon "I'll get you out of there and-"

Kanden didn't wait for her to finish and shoved himself to his feet. The rubble on his back creaked and shifted as he threw it off of him. His chest plate groaned and popped back into shape.

Samus stepped back warily. She'd never had a chance to notice it in their heated firefights, but he stood head and shoulders above her. He wasn't made any less intimidating by the way he looked everything over with a predator's gaze.

"Ok then," she said, subtly making sure her arm cannon was pointed in his direction, "Let's go talk."

* * *

The Scythe Bar was constructed in what had once been a communications room. The drinks were terrible unless you happened to be the same species as the bartender, but it was popular for the booths made from old comms stations. The discretion filters had been left in, allowing patrons to make discreet calls or have secret meetings.

Samus stared at Kanden across the table, her arm cannon resting on its surface and pointed firmly at him. "So what do you want my help for?" Samus asked.

Kanden growled quietly, looking around the room through the one way viewtube that sealed off their booth. Samus noted that he had a disconcerting habit of twisting his head past 180 degrees. "Enough with the suspiciousness," she snapped, "I've been in this game longer then you, and if I say we're in private, we're in private."

Kanden shifted nervously but turned back to look at her. "So please," she continued, " _Tell me what you want_."

He paused for a moment. "I was a… test." She tilted her head. "Test?" He slammed a hand on the table. Instantly her cannon was pointing at his face.

"The words!" he snapped, "They don't.. _work_ for me."

"Calm down," Samus said, her cannon remaining aimed at his head, "And try and tell me what you want."

He growled again but relaxed slightly. "They.. tried things. New things. Changed me."

It clicked in Samus's mind. "Experiment. You were an experiment."

Kanden nodded. "Yes, that."

She whistled quietly. "I always knew you had some enhancements," she said, "But I didn't believe that rumor."

"They did.. many things." He continued, "Then I broke out." Kanden made a clattering noise that could have been laughter. "My first kill. I ripped one of them in half. His screams were…" He struggled for a word, then gave up. "Good."

Samus coughed. "The point?"

Kanden shook his head to refocus himself. "I destroyed the building, killed the people." He made the clattering noise again. "No more things. No more tests."

"So you destroyed their facility and all their research." Samus commented impatiently, "What does that have to do with _now_?"

"They're making more," Kanden said bluntly, "And I want to destroy them." That got her attention. "They're making more?" she asked incredulously, "More of you? How do you know that?"

Kanden shook his head. "I have… a group of people. I made them tell me if anything like this happened." Samus raised an eyebrow. _He has informants? That's actually impressive from him._

"And what did they tell you?" she asked. "They're making more." Kanden replied bluntly. When he didn't elaborate, Samus sighed and leaned forward. "What did they say _exactly_?"

Kanden went to slam his fist on the table again, but stopped at the last second when he remembered the cannon pointed at his face. "They said that." He replied, " _Exactly_."

Samus sighed and raised her cannon to the ceiling. "Moving beyond your abysmal lack of any solid info," she said, "What does this have to do with me?"

Kanden growled at her. He seemed to do that a lot. "You're the best hunter." He said. "And that just stings your pride doesn't it?" Samus mocked. Kanden tilted his head. "What is a pride?"

Samus sighed again. "Forget it. That still doesn't answer my question. How do you know I'll help you?"

"Because you have no choice."

Samus laughed and pointed the cannon at him again. "Are you threatening me?"

Despite the action, Kanden stayed calm. He actually seemed more relaxed with the threat of superheated death pointed at his skull. "No," he said, "You give yourself no choice."

Samus hesitated. He was right. Kanden was a monster, no doubt about that. He always went for the dead option in bounties, sometimes when the contract specified alive. The first recorded encounter between Kanden and sentients had ended with the sentients spread across every surface within several meters. Working with him was a concept that repulsed Samus.

At the same time, that was why she had to help him. One Kanden was bad enough, but the potential of more like him was a possibility she could not allow.

 _Damn it_ , she swore to herself, _why does the psychopathic murder have to have a point?_

"And what about you?" she asked, "I know you aren't doing this out of the good of your… heart? Do you have one of those?"

"I want to be the best," Kanden said, ignoring her query, "If they make more, they could be better."

Samus raised her eyebrow and nodded. "Preemptively eliminating the competition. Makes sense."

"Will you help?" Kanden asked.

Samus sighed and stood up. "It's like you said, I don't have much of a choice."

Kanden tilted his head as he looked at her. "What now?"

"Now," Samus said, "We need to find some clues to where they're doing this. Luckily, I know a place."

* * *

Valendia was a popular planet to visit. The perfect distance from the sun to maintain a comfortable climate year round for most species, it had been selected as a protected planet to preserve its natural beauty. Its capital Ayatan was also its only city. Its streets were full of sentients on vacation, in retirement, or who had managed to snag a cushy position. Usually the crowds move between stores and shuttles to exotic locations.

Currently, they were busy avoiding the pair of heavily armored and armed figures that were walking in their midst. "Stop it," Samus warned as Kanden snarled at another group of passerby.

"Why are we here?" Kanden asked impatiently. "I swear you have a five second attention span for anything that doesn't involve killing." Samus muttered under her breath. "I told you," she said at a normal volume, "we need to find clues to where they're restarting the project."

"What does that have to do with _here_?" Kanden asked. Samus stopped and gestured to the domed building in front of them. "This."

Kanden peered at the holographic banner scrolling across the building as it flipped between languages. "A hospital?" he asked.

"Not just any hospital," Samus said as she walked towards the door, "The best in the sector." "How does that help us?" Kanden asked as he followed her.

"Simple," she said as she walked in, "We need to know what to look for to find clues. The best way to do that is to scan you and find out what sort of things they'll need."

She walked over to the counter and rapped her knuckles on it. "Excuse me," she said to the being behind the desk, "I need to know where you keep the medical scanners."

The being flicked her orange eye between Samus and the hulking form of Kanden behind her. "O-of course," she stammered, "Ju-just give me a minute to-"

Samus sighed and leaned across the desk. "You aren't doing what I asked you to," Samus said conversationally, "You're stalling for time until the security team gets here."

The receptionist paled. Apparently that wasn't just a human thing. "I don't know what you're-" she tried to say.

"A silent alarm went off when we came in," Samus interrupted, "Probably because he's a wanted criminal," she said as she jabbed a thumb to Kanden, "Or because it picked up our weapons."

She paused and held up her arm cannon to study in mock thoughtfulness. "I wonder how it could have possibly known we were armed."

The receptionist had paled even more and was pressing herself back into her chair. The other occupants were edging towards exits as Kanden glared at them. "Please don't hurt us." The receptionist begged.

Samus waved her hand. "We're not here to hurt you. I told you, I just want-"

The doors behind he burst open and a squad of Federation MPs ran into the room. The other occupants took the opportunity to bolt for the exits as the receptionist hit a button and dropped a security shield between herself and Samus.

"Put your primary manipulatory appendages up!" the squad leader yelled. Kanden snarled as the Volt Driver slid into place over his arm. Before they could start shooting, Samus stepped forward and forced Kanden's arm down.

"Let's not do that." She said politely. The MPs shifted nervously. They had already been nervous from confronting Kanden, but seeing the most famous - and infamous – hunter in the galaxy elevated the situation from bad to apocalyptic. Samus took advantage of their hesitation to scan them.

 _**Galactic Federation MP: These troopers lack the heavy armaments and armor of dedicated military units, armed with energy rifles intended to non-lethally subdue a target. While their light armor will not hold against significant firepower, it is hermetically sealed to protect from hazardous chemicals and diseases.**_

 _Light armor. I don't want to kill them, so that leaves the Paralyzer, power beam shots to the limbs, and hand-to-hand._

"Allow me to explain how this is going to work," she said calmly, "I need to take him," she pointed to Kanden, "For an in-depth medical scan. I'd like to do this by invoking all the times I've saved the Federation. If that doesn't work, I will be forced to subdue you."

She stared coldly at each of them. "You know who I am. You know what I can do. By extension, you know you have no chance against me. I'd rather not hurt you, but I will if I need to."

The MPs shifted and glanced at each other. "With all due respect ma'am," the squad leader said, "That being is a dangerous criminal. We can't just let him wander free."

"You heard him," Kanden said eagerly, "They can't let us go. We have to kill them." Samus grabbed his gun arm again and forced it down.

"I know that," she said to the squad leader, "I don't want him walking free either." She ignored Kanden's growl and kept talking. "But for now I need him. Rest assured, I'll keep him under control."

The squad leader shifted nervously and looked at his men. They knew they had no chance if this came to combat, but they would also follow his orders if he told them to. "Very well," he said, "But we at least need to disarm you."

Samus looked at Kanden and shook her head. "I'm afraid that won't happen." She held up her hand to forestall his response. "I doubt you could disarm him," she said as she pointed her arm cannon at Kanden, "And there's no way in hell I'm going to be anywhere near him unarmed."

The squad leader hesitated, then nodded. "Very well. But I insist you let us accompany you."

"That is acceptable." Samus said over Kanden's growl, "Now…"

She turned and located the control panel of the security shield. The receptionist yelped as she overrode the lockdown with her visor. "Hey," Samus said as she leaned over the counter, "I still need those directions."

The doctor was looking over the medical scanner when he heard someone knock on the doorframe. "Excuse me," a voice said, "We need to use that."

"I'm sorry," he said as he turned around, "This machine is not for use by-" His voice trailed off as he registered what he was seeing.

One figure in the doorway, covered head to toe in heavy armor and with a cannon for an arm. A second figure even bigger than the first glaring at him with four eyes. Behind them, a full squad of federation MPs with weapons unholstered.

"I'll just," he said weakly, "get out of your way." He moved carefully past them out of the door way, nervous as the heads of his visitors swiveled to watch him, then broke into a run as soon as he was past them.

"Now that we're done with that," Samus said as she walked into the room, "You need to get in that." She gestured at the large metal pod.

Kanden approached it warily. "Come on," Samus said impatiently as she bypassed its authorization system with her visor, "We don't have all day. Probably."

The pod whirred to lift and adjusted its size to accommodate Kanden. He hissed quietly but stepped into the pod. Its door slid shut and the pod shifted to a horizontal position. The onlookers could hear Kanden yell in anger through the lid.

"Calm down you baby," Samus said as she flicked through the procedures on the holographic interface with her non-gun hand, "I've seen you shrug off plasma shots to the face, there's no way that hurt you. Now shift to lay on your back."

Kanden growled, but the pod shuddered as he complied. "Ok," Samus muttered, "How do you work this thing?"

She pressed a button and the display chimed. "Greetings," a calm female voice said, "I am the VI of this conglomerate medical scanner. How may I assist you today?"

Samus rolled her eyes. "Great, a tutorial." She pressed a few more of the holographic buttons. "I need an in-depth scan of the subject."

"Of course." The VI said pleasantly. Inside the pod, panels slid aside to reveal scanners. Beams of light swept across Kanden as he shifted nervously. "Please remain still." The VI chastised. Kanden growled but obeyed.

"Scan in progress." The VI said. As it spoke, a red box of text appeared on the display.

[Warning: This subject is a wanted criminal. Please delay him until the proper authorities arrive. A dispatch has already been summoned.]

"Oh for…" Samus sighed and turned to the MPs. "Is there any way to deactivate this?" she asked. The squad leader shook his head. "Great." She sighed.

"Can I come out yet?" Kanden asked from inside the pod. "Not yet," Samus replied.

She turned back to the display. "Ok, what abnormalities are you picking up?" The VI dinged quietly. "Genetic material distinguishes the subject as a male member of the Enoema species." The VI said as a holographic display of Kanden's DNA was projected. "However, there are many instances of foreign genetic material grafted to that of the subject."

Portions of the DNA lit up red. "What species did the foreign DNA come from?" Samus asked. The VI was quiet for a moment. "There has been severe genetic corruption," it replied, "making identification difficult. The following is a list of possibilities with a greater than 90% match." A large box appeared next to the DNA, containing a long list of species.

Samus looked it over. "Remove all possibilities that can be found on multiple planets." She commanded. Most of the names disappeared, leaving only five. "Remove all possibilities that have been extinct for over a century." Three of the names vanished. "What distinguishing characteristics do these species have?" she asked. The VI was silent as it processed. "Both possibilities have demonstrated severe resistance to trauma in clinical trials."

Samus nodded. "That would be useful," she commented, "Where can these be found?" "One is a type of insectoid found on X865754. The other species is a strain of protoplasmic slime found in asteroid belts across the galaxy."

Samus started to ask a question, then stopped. "When I said 'multiple planets', I meant more than one place." The VI paused. "Noted. Subject removed from possibility list." "So, where is X865754?" she asked.

"That planet is located in central Galactic Federation space." The VI replied. Samus sighed. "So not likely. Fine. What other irregularities are there?"

The pod whirred as it scanned Kanden again. "The subject has scars from many surgical procedures." The VI said, "Most prominently, scar tissue indicates that over 95% of the subjects pain receptors have been flayed away."

"Unusual, but not especially unique," Samus said, "What is there that's more severe than that?" The VI paused. "The subject has had the majority of his digestive tract removed, replaced by a series of power regulators, generators, and manipulator circuits."

Samus looked over the projected images. "That is unique," she said, "But anyone with the right tech could do this. What else?"

"Several injection systems are present in the primary organ cavity, along with chemical synthesizing systems." Another red box appeared.

[Warning: This subject has illegal compounds in his system. Please delay him until the proper authorities arrive. A dispatch has already been summoned.]

"Can you just call your base and tell them to ignore this?" Samus asked over her shoulder. "Ignore what?" Kanden asked from the pod. "Nothing, just lay still."

"What chemicals are present in his system?" she asked the computer. "There are approximately seven chemicals used to reduce pain, three to enhance reflexes and reaction time, four to increase regenerative properties, and one to increase strength." The VI answered, "Relative concentrations indicate they were introduced to the system several hours ago."

"So he set them off during our fight." Samus said, "Show me their names." She looked over the chemicals as they appeared. "Most of these are standard chem-boosters," she commented, "Basic, but effective."

She pointed to one she didn't recognize. "What's that one?" "That is a chemical colloquially known as synth-ad," the VI responded, "A synthetic adrenaline created from military research confiscated from-"

The VI buzzed. "[Data redacted]." It said in the same pleasant voice. Samus sighed. "Can't you just hack it or something?" one of the MPs asked. Another one jabbed him with an elbow. "I would," Samus said, "But that would only work if the data was blocked. This machine is just reading the info as non-existent."

She sighed and flicked the name of the chemical to the side of the screen. "Save that for later. What else?"

"The subject has an artificial combat exoskeleton grafted to his body." A holographic projection of Kanden appeared, the armor plates on his body displayed in red. "They are thoroughly connected to his anatomy. Removal would cause severe trauma and likely death." Other parts of his body lit up in various colors. Yellow for where muscles anchored to the armor, orange for where nerves threaded their way into it. She could see that even his spine was connected.

She pointed to a portion of the nerves. "Why are there nerves in it?" she asked, "What's it made of?" The VI paused for a moment. "The armor is primarily composed of organic compounds." It said as an image appeared of a complex genetic code, "But several non-organic compounds have been grafted into its makeup." Several molecular models appeared near the genetic code with lines indicating where they were connected.

Samus looked it over for a moment. Then it clicked. "Wait," she said as she pointed to one of the chemicals, "That's Cordite. And that," she pointed to another one, "That's Bendezium." She looked over the display, troubled by the implications. Eventually, she moved it to the side. "We'll come back to that. What else?"

"There are several complex nodes located throughout the subject's body. The areas around them have a higher concentration of foreign genetic material." "Probably the how he uses the Stinglarva." Samus commented. "These points," the VI continued, "Also bear significant similarity to data retrieved from-" It buzzed again. "[Data redacted] on [Data redacted], as well as research by [Data redacted] on [Data redacted]."

Samus groaned. "Why does it have to keep doing that?" She waved at the display. "Just save that for later. What irregularities are there in the brain and central nervous system?"

The display projected a hologram of his brain. "There appears to be a partially completed neural web implanted in key parts of the subject's brain." The indicated parts lit up red. "Initial information indicates several flaws in the design, impairing function and causing brain damage."

"Just display the neural web." The holographic brain faded, leaving the complex form of the web. "Bring up the Drakov neural web for comparison."

A second neural web appeared next to it. "There is a 72% match between the two," the VI informed her, "Though the key structures remain the same. The differences are likely due to the different brain structures of the subjects."

"What's the Drakov neural web?" one of the MPs asked, thoroughly invested in the proceeding by now. "A commonly used design for neural webs, mostly for mental programming." Samus answered absent mindedly. She flicked it aside. "Too commonly used to narrow it down. Any other features of interest?"

"Are you done yet?" Kanden asked angrily from the pod. "No, shut up and stay still."

"There appears to be a large parasitic organism on the subject's right forearm." Samus raised an eyebrow. "Appears?"

"The organism does not wholly match any known species. However, every part of its genetic makeup can be matched to a known organism." Samus nodded. "Seems to fit with their other methods. What do all those organism have in common?"

"All organisms are found in extreme environments." Samus started to nod, then stopped. "By any chance," she asked, "Is the organism exhibiting a strong electrical output?"

"No," the VI responded, "but it does seem to be strongly linked to the previously described electrical mechanisms in the subject's torso, which in turn appear to be linked to the planetary electromagnetic field."

Samus nodded. "So the Volt Driver is alive. What else is there about it?" "It is connected to its host via both biological and technological means. Nerve endings and wiring link to ammunition devices, targeting systems, and firing mechanisms build into the subject's forearm. Analysis indicates the parasite cannot be removed without the complete amputation of the limb."

Samus shot a look at the MPs. "I bet you're glad you didn't try and disarm him." They nodded vigorously.

"Any other insights?" she asked the VI. "The subject's muscle density is ten times that of a normal Enoema." It helpfully replied.

Samus sighed. "Anything specific?" The VI was quiet for a minute. "There are irregularities in the bloodstream," It said suddenly, "However, they are too minute to scan through the bioelectrical field of the subject. A blood sample is required."

"Do it." Samus commanded. They heard a sharp hiss from inside the pod, followed by a thud as Kanden tried to punch the retracting needle.

The VI was silent as it processed the results. "The irregularities are a series of nanobots." It announced. A hologram appeared of blue spheres with number of cylindrical protuberances. Samus leaned forward. "Now that is interesting. What do you know about them?"

"There has been significant modification made to their base design," the VI replied, "But they can be identified as Galactic Federation in origin."

Samus sat back in shock. "Are you sure?" "These nanobots match the serial identification of the 96424 series."

Samus activated her visor and locked onto the consol. "What are you do-do-doiiiiiing?" the VI sputtered. It cut off as a new voice spoke.

"Remote link established." Unlike the VI, this voice made no effort to hide its mechanical nature. While the first had been a user friendly medical model, this was a military version Samus kept stored in her ship. It wasn't nearly as polite, but it was far more efficient. "Identification verified. What are your commands Ms. Aran?"

"Ah, finally an intelligent intelligence." Samus said, "Link to the Federation databases and find every use of 96424 nanites."

"Information retrieved." The computer said a fraction of a second later, "The 96424 series was in use for 1.76 standard galactic years before being replaced by the 96425 series. Its use was restricted to a single sector for development purposes and approximately 10 kilos were produced. 9.33 kilos are accounted for in various projects."

Samus's head snapped up at the last sentence. "What about the other .67?" "The scientific transport ship that they were on went missing. It was later found with all cargo missing, several key systems stripped out, and all crew dead."

"They found the bodies?" Samus asked intently. "The majority." It replied, "Causes of death from those found were all a variation of projectile energy weapon wounds and sever trauma from cauterized wounds."

Samus thought it over for less than a second. An attack that killed everyone on board, went for a science vessel, and left the ship itself. There were many organizations that could fit one of those, but only one that fit them all.

"Space Pirates." Samus growled, "It all makes sense."

She flipped through the information she'd saved. "The Stinglarva. It mentioned all that censored data. The pirates were researching my morph ball on Tallon IV. The neural web, they use those on almost every soldier. And all that bio-tech, they always did like to mix genes."

"Bring up every loss of Federation nanites within the last six months." She commanded. A galactic map appeared, as well as over three dozen red points. "Cross reference that with the operational range of potential pirate bases from my personal notes."

A number of larger purple circles appeared. At least ten had a red dot inside it. She thought over the info she'd seen. "Highlight any base that's had a recent shipment of Cordite or Bendezium."

Three appeared blue for Bendezium and two appeared orange for Cordite. One flashed between them. "Which of those had a shipment of less than a ton?"

Only the flashing circle remained. Samus's face split into a feral grin under her helmet. "Gotcha."

She walked over to the pod and knocked on the lid. "Break time's over. We have some Space Pirates to kill."

* * *

AN: Well, I got the second chapter up. And in less then a month too.

If you're here for the action, don't worry, I'll get to that next chapter. In this one, I wanted to show the process of finding the lab. Hopefully I did it well, I've never written a 'detective' scene.

I also wanted to show the extent of Kanden's modification. The only canon info is 1) he has a bioelectric field comparable to a storm, 2) the Volt Driver is from the same project, 3) he has some insect DNA, and 4) he can turn into the Stinglarva because of it. So I obviously took some liberties.

Please leave a review telling me what I did right and wrong so I can improve my writing. Or just complement me, either or.


	3. Chapter 3

Samus and Kanden crept through the rocky terrain, cautious of security devices. Their ships were several miles back, having been landed farther away from the estimated location of the pirate base in order to avoid detection. While Samus's ship was equipped with a cloaking device, Kanden had modified his ship for combat, not stealth. It's dozens of weapons and heavy armor wouldn't do much against heavy surface-to-space ordinance.

Unlike before, Kanden was completely silent, having slipped into a more predatory mindset half an hour ago. It was something Samus could empathize with.

Samus held up her free hand in a clenched fist as they approached a drop off. She edged forward and peeked over the edge. The cliff face formed a rough C shape below her. About half way along the curve, a large ledge jutted out from the side. A small landing platform was constructed on the surface, along with several tall pillars topped with spotlights and security cameras. A large metal door was set into the wall.

Several figures moved around on the platform. While they were out of range of her scan visor, Samus recognized their purple coloration and large pincers. Zebesians.

She waved Kanden closer. "Down there," she whispered as she pointed at the platform, "We'll circle around and drop down behind-"

Kanden didn't let her finish. He growled and ran towards the edge and jumped out into the open air. Samus couldn't decide whether to think 'what an idiot' or 'he's got guts'. Miraculously, Kanden managed to clear the gap, slamming into the platform and rolling to conserve his momentum.

The zebesians whirled as he arrived on the platform, snapping their pincers up to aim the attached weapons. It was too late for the one closest to Kanden. As soon as he got his feet under him he leapt forward and seized it head in one hand. He used his momentum to keep moving, slamming the pirate's head into the ground and crushing it between the platform and his palm.

The others opened fire before it died. Kanden retaliated with a charged shot from the Volt Driver, which slammed into the pirate at the back of the group and fried its nervous system. He lunged for the next closest one, ignoring their fire and roaring as he went.

He hand snapped out and grabbed it by the throat. The Volt Driver retracted and he seized its shoulder with his other hand, then quickly pulled apart. The unfortunate pirate got a view of its headless body being thrown into its comrades in the brief moment before brain death occurred.

 _Impressive_ , Samus thought as she observed his rampage, _though he seems to have a poor grasp of when it's best to engage from range_. She shook herself out of her thoughts and engaged the zoom on her visor. She could easily pick off the pirates on her own, but she was a victim of her own success. If the pirates knew she was here, they would probably just wipe their data and rig the place to blow. Again.

Better if they though it was just Kanden. Of course she had to get involved at some point, so it was best to make sure she could go unannounced for as long as she could. Her sweep identified five surveillance devices, one on each pillar and one over the doorway.

She switched on the X-Ray visor and observed their field of vision. They were all watching Kanden, who was currently relieving a zebesian of its arms. She took aim at the one over the door and fired a wave beam shot. The beam struck the camera, frying its mechanisms and shorting it out. More importantly, the beam didn't pass through the feed of any of the others.

They remaining cameras reacted to the destruction, turning to sweep the area for the culprit. She grinned as they lost their cohesion and stopped securing each other. Four more shots and all the security on the platform was gone. She got up from her crouch and went to circle over the platform. Just because Kanden couldn't follow tactics didn't mean she couldn't.

Before she could make it very far, a pack of jetpack pirates roared overhead. Most of them passed her by, intent on Kanden, but the last caught sight of her. It screeched a warning to the others and dropped from its trajectory to avoid any attack from behind.

Some of the group continued on, while four spit off to circle her like vultures. Samus smiled as she prepped her cannon. _Only four?_ She thought, _I'm losing my intimidation factor._

They screeched and opened fire, spraying energy bolts and missiles across the ground. She leapt from side to side, using her back thrusters to avoid their shots. She locked onto one and fired a missile in response.

It slammed into one of the rocket pods jutting from its pack, setting off the ammunition contained within. The explosion tossed the pirate to the side. It screeched and desperately tried to regain control. It managed to right itself, only for a charged power beam shot to slam into its head while it was helpless.

The others saw what had happened to their comrade and launched all their missiles to empty their ammo compartments. Samus took advantage of the distraction to drop into morph ball and dart under them. The pirates looked desperately for her amidst the smoke of the impacts. She rose behind them and fired an ice beam at one, freezing over its thruster.

Before it could fall far, she grabbed it with the grapple beam and hurtled it to the side, sending it over the cliff edge. It clawed the air as it fell, desperately trying to reactivate its pack. As it reached level with the landing pad, the heat from the thruster melted the ice enough for it to shatter. The thruster ignited, launching it directly into the cliff face with an impressive explosion.

The remaining pair of jetpack pirates opened fire with their beam weapons, hoping to damage Samus through sheer volume. She responded with a single charged wave beam shot. The unlucky pirate to be struck spasmed for a moment as the bolt fried its synapses, then fell still.

She grabbed the other with the grapple beam before the first finished twitching and whipped it into the ground. Its pack crunched with the impact and malfunctioned, throwing the pirate across the ground. The pirate scrambled at its forearm control, managing to deactivate the pack. As soon as the pack shut off, Samus shot it with a charged plasma shot, igniting the power cell and blasting the pirate into pieces.

She looked around to make sure the area was clear of enemies, then looked over to check on Kanden. She saw him leap into the air to grab onto a jetpack pirate and rip its pack off. _He's fine._

She circled around and jumped down to the platform. Kanden whirled to aim at the noise but stopped just short of shooting her. Samus looked around them at the bodies of the pirates. "You seem to be doing well."

Kanden clatter-laughed and tossed down the severed pirate limb he'd been holding. "Easy." He walked confidently past her towards the door. When he was within arms-reach, a loud electronic tone sounded. Two circular hatches on the ground to each side of the door snapped open and a pair of large turrets raised into positon.

One opened fire on Kanden, tossing him back across the platform. The other spun to lock onto Samus. She dodged its shot as she scanned the closest turret.

 _**Juggernaut Class Turret: Large heavily armored turrets used for defense against light vehicles. Too bulky and power consuming to be used in every facility, they have found use as defense systems against landing craft.**_

 _We're a lot less heavily armored then landing craft_ , Samus thought as she dodged another flurry of shots. She snapped off a set of plasma beam shots, only for them to harmlessly dissipate on the armor of the turret. She dodged the next shot and fired a missile. That had a slightly more severe effect, in that it left a scorch mark on the armor.

She dodged another set of shots and looked over the turret to find a weakness. Most of it was covered in large armored plates, with the exception of the large gun barrel and a trio of lenses she assumed were its targeting system.

She adjusted her aim and fired a single charged plasma shot. Rather than hitting the turret's main body, it hit the lenses and melted them. The turret froze for a second, then swept back and forth as if in confusion. Seemingly satisfied, it retracted back into the ground. Samus grinned. It was as she thought. Without a targeting device, it couldn't detect targets. And what it couldn't detect, it couldn't shoot.

She turned back to check on Kanden. The turret was blasting him backwards, slowly edging him towards the drop off. He retaliated with shots from the Volt Driver in the breaks in its fire, but he made no effort to dodge. By now his armor was burnt and twisted, half his face melted away and one arm hanging by a few tendons. Samus rolled her eyes and repeated the process on the other turret.

Kanden looked around in confusion as the turret stopped shooting at him, the damage to his armor and flesh already healing. "That was my kill!" he said angrily.

Samus didn't bother responding, instead bending down to rip the arm off a zebesian. She walked over to the door and examined it. It wasn't the usual shoot-to-open doors, instead requiring an authentication code. Of course, the pirates never were that creative. She waved the severed limb at a panel next to the door, causing it to slide open. They always embedded the authentication chips in the right arms of their zebesian troops.

She made a sarcastic 'after you' gesture towards the door. Kanden pushed past her and entered the complex, Samus following close behind.

* * *

The pair moved quietly through the corridors. The occasional zebesian guards were quickly eliminated and cameras were blasted before they could raise an alarm. The pirates knew someone was in the base of course, but with luck they wouldn't know Samus was here.

"Hold it." Samus whispered. Kanden turned to face her. "What?" he said in what could have passed for not shouting. She waved the severed arm at a nearby door and it slid open to reveal a pair of zebesians.

A few shots later and she walked into the room over to the mechanism at its center. It resembled a circular metal platform, with a robotic arm hanging from the ceiling tipped in a hollow cylinder. "Map station." She said.

Samus stuck her arm cannon into the cylinder, the advanced Chozo nanotechnology overriding the authentication systems and downloading a map of the complex. She stepped back and brought up the map as Kanden stepped forward to inspect the machine.

"Our goal should be the primary lab." She said as she looked over the labels, "That's where the highest ranking pirates will be." "What about the control center?" Kanden asked.

Samus looked up in surprise to see him removing his arm from the map station. "You can see the map?" she asked, "How?" He jerked his shoulders in an imitation of a shrug. "I did what you did." He replied.

She grabbed his arm and scanned it over with her visor. "Well you've got the tech," she muttered, "But that doesn't explain the security locks. Maybe you get automatic clearance, being one of their experiments and all." Kanden pulled his arm back. "It doesn't matter," he snapped, "Let's go kill them and be done."

Samus shook her head. "Not kill. We need at least one alive in case they wipe their systems." Kanden hissed. "You do that. I'll kill them." Samus rolled her eyes. "Fine. We'll go to the main lab, then check the control room."

They moved back out into the hallway to find a squad of zebesians had surrounded the door while they were talking. Samus slaughtered the ones to the left with precision plasma and wave beam shots to the head while Kanden used stingmissiles to eliminate his group.

The sting missiles were nasty weapons, modified from his Stinglarva form to be used from the Volt Driver. Three fired at once, rapidly homing in on a target. They used their speed and razor sharp points to pierce the armor of enemies, only exploding into shrapnel and electricity once they were at least hallway embedded into their target.

The zebesians were dead in less than five seconds. Samus looked them over as she thought. "Come on." Kanden demanded. "We have a problem." She said. "What problem?" he asked impatiently, "They're dead, let's go."

"They knew we were here." Samus said, ignoring his demands, "They shouldn't be able to do that." She looked around them for any hidden security devices she'd missed on her initial sweep. "So what?" Kanden asked. "So," she explained, "Unless we want them to seal all the doors, cut the power to the area, and blow the hallway to atoms, we need to avoid being noticed."

Her gaze fell on a nearby ventilation grate. "Luckily, they left us an alternate route."

* * *

Kanden's stinglarva form bumped into her from behind, clicking in annoyance. As the morph ball, she had no way to respond, but she rolled back to bump into his head. They had been moving through the vents for the last ten minutes, finding their way from memory of the base layout.

Samus rolled to a stop on top of a grate she was fairly sure was in – or at least near – the main lab. She activated a bomb and rolled forward to avoid the blast. Behind her, Kanden's eyes widened at the sight of the explosive and he quickly tried to writhe himself backwards.

The bomb went off, blasting the grate onto the floor. Below them, Samus could hear the hisses and clicks of zebesians as they moved to investigate. Before they could she rolled forward and dropped down, reverting to her normal form as she did so.

She targeted the nearest ones with seeker missiles, blasting them back and leaving them helpless or dead for the plasma beams that followed. Samus stepped aside as Kanden followed her out of the ceiling and immediately opened fire.

A zebesian rushed under his shots and lashed out a claw, obviously thinking it would be better to engage in melee combat. The claw snapped shut on Kanden's head, the saw-like serrations of the pincer digging in. He didn't seem to notice, finishing off the other pirate before responding.

He grabbed the two halves of the pincer and pulled apart. The zebesian fell back screeching as the joint was destroyed before being quickly silenced as Kanden fired a point blank Volt Driver shot into its chest.

He bent down and ripped off its arm before offering it to Samus. She took it and waved it over the sensor. They rushed into the room as the door opened, intending to take the occupants by surprise.

The room was large, with massive metal columns taking up most of the space. The only occupants were a pair of zebesian guards and a space pirate scientist. The guards died almost instantly as Kanden and Samus opened fire. The scientist fared better, diving behind a console as it heard the gunfire begin.

"Come on out," Samus called, "We need you to-"

Her response came in the form of a grenade. She shot it out of the air, only for the bright light to trigger her glare filter and impair her vision. The pirate seemed to have been expecting that, stepping back out as it detonated and letting off a quick burst of laser fire.

It slammed into Samus, jolting her shields. Kanden rushed forward as the enemy emerged, intent on crushing him. The pirate danced back as he advanced, always out of reach and slashing in retaliation with an energy scythe.

By now Samus's visor had recovered and she took aim at the pirate. Unfortunately she couldn't get a clear shot with Kanden in the way. "Move aside!" she yelled. Kanden ignored her, growling as a slash nearly cost him an eye.

Samus rolled her eyes and adjusted her method of fire. "Screw it." She charged an ice beam shot, then activated her missile launcher. The ice spreader blasted both combatants, encasing them in solid blocks of ice.

She walked casually over to the frozen pair and charged a plasma shot. She waved the orb of energy on the tip of her cannon over them, slowly thawing them out. She focused on Kanden first, weakening the ice for a few minutes until he broke free. Then she moved to the pirate, focusing on his head to keep him restrained while allowing him to talk.

A few minutes later, they had a pirate frozen from the neck down but perfectly capable of talking. "Now then," Samus said as she engaged her translator module, "We have some questions for you." "Damn you Hunter," the pirate spat, "I will never help you."

Samus smirked. "We'll see about that." Strangely, the pirate smiled as well. "I don't think you will. In the shadow of Ridley, we are but ash."

Samus frowned. "We weren't talking about him. We-" The pirates head jolted as a miniature explosion blasted out its right eye. Samus swore as its brains coated her helmet. The pirate's head slumped, its remaining eye dimming and going out. Samus could have sworn it was still grinning.

"What was that?" Kanden asked. He didn't seem repulsed or confused, only curious. Samus scanned the remains of its head. "Ocular flash bang." She said as she wiped off her helmet, "Nasty little piece and a bitch to disarm."

"Where could I get one?" Kanden asked eagerly.

Samus shot him a look. "What would you do with one?"

Kanden started to respond, then stopped. For a psychotic killing machine, he managed to look fairly dejected.

Samus huffed. "Whatever." She moved to a nearby console. "I'm going to look through their files, see if there's any clues there. You go find any cameras and short them out." She flipped through the files with her free hand, occasionally breaking through encryptions with her scan visor.

"Anything?" Kanden asked as he came back from his job. Samus shook her head. "Nothing. They have this lab on a closed infonet. Smart, but not convenient. They even hid the purpose of this base" She stepped back from the console. "Forget it. We'll go hit the control center."

As they left, a light flashed on the armband of the dead scientist. A minute passed as the light blinked without response. Then the alarms started.

In the hall Samus cursed as warning lights flashed to life on the ceiling and a siren began to blare. "Our cover's blown. Forget stealth, kill everything in your way until we get to the control room." Kanden clatter-laughed. "Finally!"

* * *

In the control center, the pirates rushed to evacuate the base. "Is this necessary?" One pirate asked another, "What evidence do we have that it's the Hunter?"

The main door to the room exploded inward and Kanden and Samus stepped into the room. They had a brief moment to take it in. It was large and filled with consoles displaying the status of the data wipe. The main floor contained half a dozen zebesians while a trio of pirate troopers stood on a walkway on the second level.

Then the moment passed and the pirates opened fire. Samus ignored the fire, relying on her shields to protect her. Instead, she aimed at the door on the second level and fired the ice spreader, freezing it over and sealing off the pirate's method of escape. "Remember," she yelled at Kanden, "We need one alive!"

He snarled as he fried another zebesian. "Fine, but not in one piece." Samus ignored his retort as she targeted the pirates on the walkway. Two had taken up firing positions using consols as cover while the third had moved to the door and was using its beam weapon to melt through.

A super missile blasted on of the consoles to pieces, the shrapnel shredding the pirate who had been hiding behind it. The other threw a grenade at Samus as its comrade died. The explosion blew through fair chunk of an energy tank as it rushed to change positions.

Samus shook off the hit and required the target. She charged a plasma beam shot and fired at the arm that was protruding around its cover. It shrieked as its arm was burned to ash, but leapt out of cover and rushed at Samus before the stump cooled. It threw itself from the walkway towards her, raising the scythe on its remaining arm to stab her as it fell. She shot it out of the air with a missile, then fired two power beam shots into it just to be sure.

With the distractions dead, she aimed at the pirate at the door and fired a plasma shot into its back. It cried out and slumped over, its beam fizzling out.

She looked back to see Kanden and found he was cornering the final zebesian. It fired beam shots point blank into him, but Kanden strode forward undeterred and grabbed it by the throat. "Wait!" Samus yelled, "We need it alive!" Kanden ignored her and raised it into the air, slamming it down on the floor. It twitched weakly and tried to crawl away before Kanden fired a Volt Driver shot into its back.

Samus fired a power beam shot into his shoulder at the same time. He snarled and whirled on her, raising the Volt Driver to aim at her head. "You idiot!" she yelled, "That was our only lead!" Kanden seemed about ready to fire at her when the door on the upper level exploded inward.

A trio of heavily armored pirates ran in, each carrying a heavy armored shield on their left arm and a metallic tube resting on their back. They leapt off the platform and landed with heavy thuds as a pair of pirates in light advanced-looking armor came in behind them.

"You're in luck," Samus said as she prepped her arm cannon, "We have some volunteers." The armored pirates snarled through their helmets and moved their shields in front of them. The metallic tubes shifted and raised up on short robotic arms, aiming over their shoulders at the hunters. The pair on the walkway unlimbered long rifles as the fronts of the tubes opened to reveal miniature warheads.

Samus quickly stepped behind a console as the pirates opened fire. The shielded pirates unleashed missiles in rapid succession, blasting apart the side of the console facing them. Kanden howled and staggered back as they slammed into him. "Cover you idiot!" Samus yelled, "Use it!"

Kanden quickly moved behind another console to escape the barrage. While they were focused on him, Samus poked her head around cover and scanned one.

 _**Demolisher Trooper: These space pirate troopers are clad in heavy armor designed to resist a wide variety of energy sources and deflect most of the explosive force of missiles. To further augment their survivability, each has been equipped with a durable shield to prevent such attacks from even reaching them. Offensively, they are armed with automated missile launcher mounted on their backs and galvanic accelerator cannons.**_

As Samus scanned one, she became aware of a high pitched humming noise. She quickly ducked back into cover as it stopped. Less than a second later, a thin green beam cut through the air where her head had been and punched a hole in the floor. She swore as she saw the molten hole.

 _These are a cut above the cannon fodder_ , she thought, _We may actually be in trouble._ She risked another peek and saw the demolisher troopers were edging forward to circle around their cover. She sighted on the nearest one and fired off a series of plasma beam shots. The blasts impacted on its shield, barely making it flinch.

She ducked back as its counter attack blasted apart the floor, followed by another green beam from the pirates on the walkway. She quickly reconsidered her options. "Kanden!" she yelled.

"What?"

"Remember what you did when we fought in the hangar?"

"Which thing?"

"When you did that electric pulse!"

'What about it?"

"You need to do it now!"

"What?!" Kanden yelled. He risked a glimpse at the troopers closing in. They were covered head to toe in thick pates of armor, looking more like robots than anything alive. A thin black slit across the helmet served as their viewport.

"Just do it!" she yelled as more blasts ripped apart their cover, "Do it now!"

Kanden was jolted into action by the command. Electricity pulsed across his body and leapt outward briefly. An alert appeared in Samus's HUD. _[Error. Electromagnetic shielding detected.]_

She grinned. "Now charge them!" Kanden glared at her. He was a psychopath, not an idiot. Mostly. "Just trust me, do it!"

Kaden hesitated, but stepped out and rushed the demolisher troopers. The missile launchers whirred into position… then did nothing. The demolishers went from confident to nervous as Kanden got closer without their launchers blasting him. Unfortunately for them, his electrical shield made computer targeting impossible and their automated systems had no manual option.

Samus moved out of cover, making sure to keep the remains of the console between her and the demolishers, and aimed at the pirates on the walkway. They were wearing thin armor, colored black rather than the grey of most space pirates. Advanced visors covered the tops of their heads, with a single glowing red lense in the center of the head. Each held a rifle as long as they were tall, shaped like black and red metallic needles.

They had been aiming their rifles at Kanden when a wave beam shot caught one in the torso. It shrieked and fell to the ground as the electricity jolted it. The other quickly identified the source of the shot, but thought better of firing back when it noticed Samus was already aiming at it. It ducked behind an intact console as another wave beam shot cut through the air where it had been.

Satisfied the pirates on the walkway were dealt with, Samus looked back to the demolishers just as Kanden reached them. They had apparently realized that their missiles weren't going to fire and were prepping their beam weapons when Kanden slammed into the one in the center.

Though he was a good head taller than it, its heavy armor and strength enhancement systems allowed it to resist the charge. It slid back several centimeters as its clawed feet dug into the ground, then stopped. The other two moved to encircle Kanden and cut him down with their beams.

Samus targeted the one closest to her and opened fire. It staggered to the side as a super missile struck it, but its armor remained intact. Its missile launcher spun around to target her as it detected an unshielded target. Before it could fire, an ice beam shot hit it.

A moment later, the launcher exploded as it tried to fire. The demolisher turned to face her, bringing its beam weapon up to rest in a semicircular indent in the shield. Behind it, Kanden continued to shove at the first demolisher, keeping it too off balance to use its weapon, while firing Volt Driver shots at the other to keep it at bay.

Samus took a moment to turn and fire off a series of plasma beam shots at the walkway, sending the pirates there scrambling back to cover. The demolisher began to advance on her, opening fire with its beam weapon. Samus ignored the shots, she had a full seven tanks of energy left.

Instead she focused on counterattacks. The shield negated all of her beams, as well as missiles. A super missile left a dent, but caused no noticeable damage. She fired the ice spreader, hoping to trap it in place.

The demolisher itself remained unfrozen. Its shield though was trapped in ice connected to the layer coating the floor around it. It snarled as Samus moved to circle around the shield. A loud clunk sounded as it disconnected from the shield and turned to aim its weapon at her.

Samus chose to bypass the idea of a challenge and fired a super missile at its head. The ordinance blew the helmet apart, sending the trooper staggering back. Before it could recover, Samus fired a plasma shot at its now uncovered head.

As it fell, she fired off another set of beam shots at the walkway to keep the pirates suppressed. She looked to see Kanden had knocked one to the ground and was currently keeping his foot pressed down on its shield to keep it from freeing its gun. The other was trading fire with him as it tried to circle around him and allow the one on the floor a chance to recover.

Samus took advantage of its distraction to drop into morph ball and circle around behind it. She reverted to normal form and activated the wavebuster. It staggered to the side as electricity jolted through its systems. Kanden took advantage of its distraction to rush it. He seized the edge of its shield and wrenched violently to the side. Already off-balance, the demolisher toppled over. Samus quickly pressed her arm cannon into its head and fired a super missile.

As it died, the other demolisher tried to right itself. Finding it an impossible task, it aimed its weapons and fired from the floor. Samus cursed as a missile hit her. Kanden merely ran towards it as beam shots peppered him. Samus moved to help him when she heard the humming again. She whirled and fired at the pirates above them. The shot missed, but served its purpose of making the pirate flinch. Its shot went wide, missing Kanden's head by a full meter.

As she suppressed the pirates above them, Kanden reached the pirate and seized its gun arm, forcing it down. With his other hand, he seized its helmet and jolted it with electricity. He pushed the power out of him and into the demolisher, past the point of exertion into pain. He only stopped when he smelled the circuitry of its armor melt and fuse. He released the pirate, dropping the steaming body to the ground.

He looked up to see Samus use her grapple beam to leap up to the walkway. The pirates turned to bring their rifles to bear on her. She lashed out with the grapple beam and tore the rifle out of the hands of the nearest one. As it staggered forward, she grabbed it and pulled it into a chokehold, keeping it in front of her as a shield. She aimed her arm cannon around her hostage as the other pirate hesitated. She took the moment of indecision to scan her opponent.

 _**Research Trooper: These low ranking members of the space pirate science teams are assigned the task of field testing experimental weapons and technologies. Though the survival rate is a mere 10%, they are valued for the insights even the failures bring. A successful research trooper is regarded as an elite even among space pirates._

 _These troopers are armed with high penetration energy weapons, based off the Kriken Imperialist.**_

"Listen to me," She commanded, "If you do what I say-" The research trooper didn't bother letting her finish before it opened fire. The beam struck its comrade in the chest, cutting through it and striking Samus on the other side. She grunted as she saw almost an entire energy tank vanish from her HUD. She tossed the corpse to the side as Kanden clambered up a ladder behind her.

The trooper glanced them over before deciding it didn't like its odds. It snapped off another shot before turning to flee. Kanden moved to shoot it in the back as the shot went wild. "No," Samus commanded as she held her arm cannon out to block his path, "We need it alive."

The armor plates of her left thigh shifted and split open. She reached down with her left hand and pulled out the Paralyzer from its now uncovered holster. She'd added the feature recently when she'd had an uptake in 'Alive' bounties.

She took aim at the fleeing pirate and pulled the trigger. She'd also upgraded the gun itself. When fired by a normal being, it was powered by its internal power cell. But when it was fired by her while wearing her armor, it linked to her armor's power cells.

The pirate fell as the shock jolted through its body. Just because it was meant to non-lethally subdue targets didn't mean it wasn't painful. It wouldn't die, but it wouldn't be trying to escape for a few minutes. Samus walked over to the twitching pirate to examine their captive.

Kanden moved towards it when her hand clamped onto his arm. He growled quietly and turned to glare at her. "Don't kill it." Samus commanded. He tried to pull away but she wouldn't let him. "I know you want to kill it. But we need it." She said, "If you need something from someone, wait until you get it, then kill them.

Kanden hesitated, then nodded. She waited to make sure he wasn't lying, then released him. She walked over to the twitching pirate and switched to her x-ray visor. She ripped its visor off and moved its head from side to side until she found the ocular flashbang, then changed the setting on the Paralyzer and fired a point blank shot into its head.

After that was done, she stood up and tossed its rifle away. "Restrain it." She said, gesturing at the pirate. Kanden grumbled, but moved to comply. He ripped a piece of the railing off and bent it around the captive's arms behind its back.

The hunters stood by the captive for the next few minutes in silence as it recovered control of its body. As the effect faded, it shook its head and tried to move its limbs.

When it realized its arms were trapped, it quickly tried to twist its legs under it to stand. Samus watched its clumsy movements as the numbness faded, then pushed it lightly to the side. It toppled over hissing curses at her.

"Now then," she said, "We have some questions for you."

It laughed. "Unlikely. In the shadow of Ridley, we are but ash."

There was a moment of silence. The pirate started in confusion as Samus tilted her head in mock curiosity. "Sorry, but that isn't really important right now." The pirate hissed at her in anger and confusion.

She sighed. "Let's keep this simple. He," she gestured behind her at Kanden, "Is one of your projects. I want to know where you're making more."

The pirate clamped its mouth shut in refusal. Samus sighed. "Right then. Kanden, if you would." Kanden moved forward and grabbed its leg in both hands, then sharply bent it.

The pirate didn't even twitch as its leg broke. Samus tilted her head. "No pain receptors."

It nodded. "Carved from my skull," it sneered, "To prevent such crude methods as this from breaking me."

Samus sighed. "Okay then. Here's what's going to happen. You will tell me the location of the base I'm looking for. Usually, I'll threaten the subject with pain. Obviously, that won't work." She leaned forward. "So instead, I'll make you a promise. If you don't tell me, I'll let you live."

Kanden made a noise of confusion. But the important reaction was that of the pirate. A flicker of concern. "You're getting it wrong." The pirate said, "You're supposed to kill me if I don't comply."

Samus shook her head. "No, that's stupid. If I kill you, who's going to tell me? But this…" She paced a bit in front of the captive. "You see, if you don't tell me, I'll leave you trapped in this base. Alive." She stopped and bent to eyelevel with the pirate. "And while you may not fear me, you do fear your superiors."

The pirate shifted, the first real sign of fear. "You see," She continued, "If I leave you here alive, they'll assume that I let you live because you did what I want."

"You're wrong!" the pirate said desperately, fear in its voice.

"Am I?" Samus said calmly, "Once I wipe all the security tapes, if you didn't do that already, how would they know otherwise? By trusting the word of the one they suspect of treachery?" She tutted at him. "High Command doesn't treat traitors well. I hear they give them to the Science Team for test subjects. Or to the cooks, to be made into tasty meals."

She leaned forward until her faceplate was nearly touching its face. "On the other hand, you can give me some coordinates and I will give you a quick death."

The group was silent for a moment. "Alright." The pirate said in a defeated tone, "I'll talk."

* * *

Several solar systems away, a solitary figure stood in a darkened room. Reports flashed across the holographic displays that surrounded it, dozens at a time.

One in particular caught its eye. It touched the report as it flashed by, causing it to fill the display as the other reports vanished. A facility had gone dark. Nothing major, it was minor and remote. But why would such a facility have cause to go dark without warning?

A command brought up a list of other bases it was linked with. There were only a few, but that made it easy to pick out the important one. The figure didn't have to bring up the history of that particular project, he was well acquainted with its output.

Another command brought up the surveillance data regarding that subject. And there was the importance. The subject had met the Hunter, before vanishing from their sources.

The data was enough. The figure made the displays vanish as it activated a commlink. "Prepare my ship. I have some old comrades to meet."

* * *

AN: Look at this, actual productivity from me. Enjoy it while it lasts.

Some points of discussion: 1) That use of the paralyzer has been a headcanon of mine for a while. I didn't mention it before, but hopefully this clears up the mention of the paralyzer while in the suit for Red fiend.

2) Looking back over this and my earlier chapters, I realize that I make almost no mention of energy/missile levels. I may start doing that, but I'm unsure of how well it would mesh with the narrative.

3) The scans. Personally, I like them because it lets me describe the enemies in more detail. I'm not sure how you like them, so tell me if you feel like they interrupt the pacing. The enemies themselves are from the first fanfiction I wrote. Well I say wrote, but I really just planned it out. It was going to be a novelization of what I thought a fourth Prime game would be like. I may publish it later, once I've gone through it and refined the concept, so consider these enemies teasers.

Please leave reviews so that I can take your feedback into account.


	4. Chapter 4

Space above YV-836 rippled and bent, before cracking apart to disgorge a pair of small ships. The first was an orange wedge-shaped ship with a trio of semicircular nodules on the underside. The second was a manta-ray shaped craft, bristling with missile pods and cannons. The pair banked and plunged towards the planet, not bothering to establish an orbit. They were unhindered by the thin atmosphere, barely slowing as they approached the surface.

After several minutes, the ships jerked to a stop and settled onto the ground. The hatch on the top of the orange ship hissed open and Samus jumped out. She surveyed the landscape as Kanden emerged from his ship.

Red stone hills stretched as far as the eye could see, ranging from a few meters to nearly a kilometer in height. Her scans showed that the planet had below average gravity, with a thin atmosphere poisonous to most sentients. In other words, it was just one of millions of worlds no one wanted to bother visiting beyond an initial survey. The perfect place to hide a base.

She brought up a map of the local topography and turned until she was facing the coordinates the pirate had so kindly given her. "There." She said, pointing towards the horizon. Kanden was silent, but shifted his shoulders and began walking in the direction she had indicated. Being so close to his goal had made him even less personable than usual.

The pair walked through the wasteland for several hours. They had landed several kilometers away from the base in order to stay out of range of any scanners, but with their enhancements they covered the distance rapidly. The land around them remained barren, the only life being an occasional multi-legged shape shifting in the shadows of the stones.

As they neared their destination, Samus held out a hand and dropped into a crouch. Kanden followed suit and looked around. "No life signs," he said, "And no indication of recent activity. Why are we stopping?" Despite his disagreement, he kept his voice low.

"We're close to their base," Samus said, "Even if you can't pick anything up, it's almost certain that the pirates have some sort of trap or surveillance gear out here."

Kanden looked around again. "There's nothing here." He repeated in annoyance.

Samus rolled her eyes and gestured forward. "Be my guest then."

Kanden looked at her suspiciously and shifted his weight. Then his pride and urgency got the best of him and he moved forward.

He got three meters before he found the trap. A nanofiber, made from non-metallic or organic material strung across the ground at shin level snapped as he stepped through it, setting several other pieces into motion. Kanden had just enough time to look towards the disturbance when the buried explosive launched a cloud of metallic shards at him, designed to shatter visors and shred environmental suits.

He staggered back as the shards embedded themselves in his armor and flesh. Samus walked up behind him. "The pirates have a habit of making low-tech booby traps at the edge of their bases." She commented as Kanden growled and tried to pry out the shrapnel. Samus reached out and pulled one out of his neck. "They're harder to detect," she said as she looked over the shard, "And usually customized for maximum lethality in the environment they're used in."

She tossed the shrapnel aside and observed Kanden's struggles. "You're lucky you don't need a suit to survive out here." Samus commented. She reached out with her free hand and began pulling out the shards. "Next time, listen to the expert on pirates."

Kanden tried to glare at her, a task impaired by how the shards had shredded all but one of his eyes. He settled for standing still and letting Samus remove the shards with her more precise digits. When all the pieces were removed, Samus stepped back and observed him. The wounds to his flesh had already stopped bleeding and would be gone within a few minutes.

"So," Samus said, "Would you like to lead again?" Kanden growled but shook his head. "Good." Samus said sternly, "You may be a natural born killer, but I have years of experience on you. When I tell you something, it's usually a good idea to listen."

They set out again, this time with Samus in front. They passed five other traps, with Samus avoiding or disarming them each time. Soon they stopped again.

Samus pointed silently at a portion of a large rock formation hidden in shadow. Kanden peered at it with his newly formed eyes. "It's a camera." He whispered. The Volt Driver slid into place around his arm and he made to aim at the device. Before he could Samus forced his arm down.

"No!" she whispered harshly, "Pirates react to every camera failure as if it were a security breach. It's part of why they're so hard to infiltrate." She activated her X-ray visor and looked at the camera, observing its cone of vision. "Follow me as closely as you can." she whispered.

She moved carefully forward, making sure she didn't dislodge any rocks that would fall into the field of vision. Kanden followed closely behind, surprisingly nimble for someone so large. As they continued they encountered more cameras, avoiding each the same way.

As the cameras became denser, they became more cautious, aware that they must be nearing the base. As they approached the lip of a deep canyon, Kanden and Samus edged past the final few cameras and looked over the edge.

At the bottom of the canyon near the opposite wall, they could see the building. It resembled a massive metallic heart, with a number of short exhaust pipes protruding from the top and its armored bulkheads shaped in an oddly organic style. The ground around it was speckled with circular hatches for defensive turrets and spotlights swept the area.

Samus scanned the area, her visor creating a glowing overlay to show to blind spots. Unlike before, the blind spots were much smaller and constantly shifting with the motions of the spotlights. She hummed quietly to herself as she observed the display.

"What is it?" asked Kanden.

"Their security is much tighter here," she commented, "A stealthy infiltration would be much harder."

"So figure it out." Kanden snapped.

"You could try to help." She replied.

Kanden made a rapid low clicking noise and crossed his arms. "You're the one who plans things. I just kill the problems."

Samus shot him a look, then stood up. "Well, this is your lucky day then." She pointed at the base. "Attack."

Kanden glared at her. He'd learned his lesson from before. "I thought you had a plan?"

"I do. This is it." Samus gestured at the base. "The base is too secure to infiltrate, so the plan is to take it by force. You go in, I pick off anything that tries to stop you, then we blow a hole in the side and go in."

Kanden still regarded her with suspicion, but he kept glancing at the base. Though his distrust was well founded, what served as his rational mind was being swayed by the combat drugs that were being pumped into his body in anticipation of violence.

"Of course," Samus said, "We could just turn around and leave. Sure, the things they create in there will make you obsolete, but-"

She didn't get to finish as Kanden jumped off the ledge to the canyon floor below. She grinned under her helmet. _A great warrior he may be, but a thinker he is not_. She checked over her suit's status. _10 energy tanks, 100 missiles, 1 power bomb. All weapons prepped and ready. Let's do this._

She leapt down to join Kanden, who had already demolished the closest turrets and was charging towards the base. Turrets sprung up as he entered their sensor range, only to be fried by Volt Driver shots or blown apart by Stingmissiles.

A personnel door slid open on the side of the base and a squad of zebesians ran out. Each had cybernetics grafted over the majority of their face, neck, and chest, designed to keep they alive in the harsh conditions of YV-836. They raised their claws and aimed at Kanden, only for a blast of plasma to incinerate the trooper in the lead.

Their gaze snapped to a second figure behind Kanden who was rapidly approaching them. If they were anatomically capable, they would have paled at the sight. They settled for screeching in fear and desperately opening fire on The Hunter.

Samus used the thrusters on the back of her armor to rapidly dodge back and forth, evading most of their fire. She retaliated with a storm of uncharged power beam shots, felling three zebesians through sheer volume.

She passed Kanden, who was occupied by destroying the field of turrets, and used a rock outcropping to leap into the air. Below her, a turret snapped out of the ground and locked onto her. She grabbed it with the grapple beam before it had a chance to fire, then spun in midair. The thrusters augmented the motion, allowing her enough force to tear the turret out of the ground and hurtle it at the zebesians. At the same time, she switched to the missile launcher and locked onto the squad.

The zebesians threw themselves to the side as the turret flew towards them, narrowly avoiding being struck by the improvised weapon. They weren't so lucky with her follow up attack as the seeker missiles tore them apart while they were unprepared. Samus hit the ground and continued running towards the remaining pair of zebesians. One tried to shoot her and was rewarded with a wave beam shot to the head. The second turned and ran back into the airlock. It desperately waved its ID chip at the scanner and activated the lockdown protocol. The outer door obligingly slid closed, only to stop as the remains of the turret jammed the door open. It dropped to its knees and tried to dislodge the wreckage, only for a charged power beam shot to blow its head apart.

Samus slowed her run to a casual stroll. The cameras around the door followed her as she walked up to it, but without troops to command they could only glare. Kanden plodded up behind her soon after, the turrets demolished. He stepped over the turret in the doorway to find Samus leaning up against a wall.

"Move that." She commanded, pointing at the remains of the turret. He growled quietly but kicked the turret out onto the sand. The door immediately slammed shut as the obstruction was cleared, leaving the two trapped in the airlock.

Kanden snarled and dropped into a half crouch as he realized they were trapped. He snapped up his gun arm and fired at the door. When that failed to breach the lockdown, he lowered his shoulder and charged at the hatch. It dented slightly, but was otherwise unharmed.

Samus watched his efforts dispassionately. "Finished?" she asked. Without waiting for a reply, she planted the barrel of her arm cannon against the wall next to the locked door. A moment passed as the weapon charged, then a super missile blasted a crater in the bulkhead. She stuck her hand into the hole and felt around until she found a circuit board. Her suit analyzed the purpose of the part, then pulsed small electrical charges into strategical portions. A moment later, the door to the base slid open.

On the other side, they found chaos. A squad of zebesians were hastily dragging crates into place to form cover while a pair of reptilian pirates assembled a heavy weapon. A harsh series of noises was being repeated over the intercom, likely the automated intruder alarm, while red lights flashed throughout the hallway.

The base itself was the first to notice them, a turret dropping into place as soon as the hatch opened. A Stingmissile blew it apart before it got a chance to fire, shreds of metal falling onto the zebesians. The pirates reacted to the explosion quickly, either throwing themselves into cover or turning to face the intruders.

Those who tried to fight died quickly as the combined fire power of Kanden and Samus literally tore them apart. The remainder poked their weapons out of cover and fired blindly to try and suppress the hunters.

Kanden roared and charged forward, leaping over a large crate to land beside a pair of Zebesians. Samus used the distraction to target the gun arms of the other Zebesians, freezing them solid with a series of precise ice beam shots. While they staggered back from the pain of having a limb instantly frozen solid, Samus melted the crates they were hiding behind into slag with the plasma beam. She melted the zebesians as well while Kanden finished bisecting his remaining victim.

With their meatshields gone, the reptilian pirates were forced into actions. One stepped out from cover and activated an energy shield while the other dove for the heavy weapon. Samus aimed and fired at the lead pirate, only for her plasma beam shot to glance off the energy shield. She frowned under her helmet but didn't let it show, rapidly switching between beams to test them on the shield. Each was reflected without any apparent effort from the pirate. The pirate bared its teeth, then swung up its other arm to aim its gun from a semicircular notch in the shield.

Samus stepped behind a crate as its shots cut through the air where she had been. Kanden watched the exchange, then growled and charged the pirate. The pirate switched its aim and opened fire on him. Kanden ignored the shots as he quickly closed the distance. The pirate panicked and tried to move away from the approaching killer. Too late.

Kanden reached out and grabbed the edge of the shield, the energy crackling as it burned his hand. He ignored it as he lifted the shield and swung. The pirate was dragged along by its shield, slamming harshly into a wall. Before it could recover, Kanden swung it into another wall, followed by the floor, the ceiling, the walls another three times, and the floor again. On the ninth swing, the accumulated trauma took effect on the joint and the pirate was ripped free of its shield arm. Kanden tossed the severed limb aside and shot the downed pirate twice, then turned to the remaining pirate.

The pirate panicked as it saw the Enoema turn towards it. It quickly slammed the final cable in place and aimed the weapon at Kanden. If it had been hoping the threat would make him pause, it was disappointed. Kanden immediately ran towards the newly presented threat, howling a wordless battlecry.

The howl turned to one of pain and anger as the pirate pulled the trigger. A bright beam of light shot from the barrel and cut through his leg, continuing on to burn a hole in the floor. Kanden slammed into the ground a meter short of the pirate, who hastily dragged the weapon farther away. He tried to raise himself, only to collapse with another howl. If he had taken the time to look himself over, he would have seen the shot had nearly removed his leg, melting through his armor and severing the muscles of the limb.

But this was Kanden, and he wouldn't have cared even if he had. He tried to pull himself up, already ignoring the pain. The pirate took aim at his head, only for a missile to strike the heavy weapon. The blast ruptured the energy cell, blowing the weapon into a cloud of deadly shrapnel. The pirate had just enough time to realize the danger before it was killed.

Samus swept the corridor for life signs, then left her cover and strolled over to her comrade. She scanned the remains of the weapon as Kanden hauled himself up.

 _**Thanix Heavy Weapon: A complex but devastating weapon, these guns are often used by pirates to secure an area where heavy firepower is needed in close quarters. Compact laser cutters shear off a portion of its solid metal ammunition core, which it then superheats and launches through powerful magnetic impulses.**_

She shot him a glance as she turned to a nearby door. "You should really fix that habit of yours." She commented. Samus grabbed the remains of the shield pirate and waved its arm over the sensor. The door slid open to reveal a startled prate beside a map station.

Kanden shot it before it could react as they stepped into the room. "What habit?" he asked in genuine confusion.

"Charging strait into the fight," Samus said as she plugged her arm cannon into the machine, "At some point you'll come up against someone who'll kill you. Hell, if I wasn't here you would have died just now."

Kanden hissed and shook his head. "I charge in, yelling and shooting. They get scared and fight worse."

"And if it's robots?" Samus asked as she removed her cannon and examined the map, "Or someone who isn't scared?"

Kanden hissed again and took a step away from her. "We're working together now. Not forever."

Samus raised an eyebrow. _So he's holding out on me. I should really stop letting his intelligence surprise me._ She tilted her head as she thought. _For that matter, he basically just admitted the berserker persona is a psychological weapon._

She shot him another look as he activated the map station himself. _He's smarter than he acts. The question is, how much?_

"We should go here," she said out loud, gesturing to a room on the holographic display.

Kanden peered at the display. "Central Laboratory." He read.

"Exactly," Samus said, "This whole facility is devoted to this experiment. It stands to reason they'd be based there."

She looked around the room. "And we don't want them to know we're coming…"

Kanden followed her gaze. "Again?"

Samus shrugged and walked over to the vent covering. "Why mess with a good formula?"

* * *

The Central Laboratory was more secure than most Pirate facilities. A series of grates had been placed in the ventilation shafts to keep out animals, as well as miniature blast doors to secure it during lockdown. Of course, this didn't make it impenetrable, just more annoying to access. What was impenetrable was keeping the lab on an independent ventilation system. Since blasting through walls meant potentially going through a fuel line and vaporizing themselves, the pair decided to go in through the normal entrance.

The morph ball and Stinglarva moved into position in the vents above the room. Samus rolled over a vent opening and used the simple sensors of the morph ball to sweep the room. It was a short wide corridor that had been sectioned off by forcefields. She didn't see any zebesians or heavy weapons in the current section, only a quartet of guards whose species she didn't recognize.

A bomb blasted the cover off, allowing Samus to drop to the floor below. She was in the final section, the door to the lab in front of her and a forcefield behind her. Blocking her path were four guards in light chitinous armor wielding what looked like rifles crossed with the Volt Driver.

One was cut down before it got a chance to realize the threat. The remaining three raised their rifles and opened fire with yellow-green electrical bolts. Deprived of cover, Samus bulled through the projectiles, allowing them to impact on her armor as she lined up her own shots. One quickly fell as she fired the plasma beam directly into its head with a second following soon after.

Kanden dropped down behind her as the last one tried desperately to prolong its life. It looked past her to the second figure and reacted instantly. Rather than continue to fire, it threw down its weapon and extended its hands towards him. Samus hesitated at the action, her finger on the firing control. She wasn't used to enemies not attacking her, much less surrendering. Bemused, she scanned the figure.

 _**Enoema Trooper: Recruited from the most vicious members of the species, Enoema troopers are used as a substitute to Zebesians in areas primarily controlled by Enoema. Utilizing the fruits of various experiments, these troopers tend to wield light-weight composite armor and Volt Rifles.**_

Kanden advanced on the soldier, who dropped to its knees and began to rapidly chatter something. Samus's translator hesitated at the speech, then repeated a series of closest translations.

"Greater-warrior-power, subservient-surrender. Ancient-law demands you must protect-command me."

Kanden stopped just in front of the figure. It craned its neck to look up to him, repeating its statement. Kanden looked down on it for a moment, then hit it with a savage punch to the side of the head.

It was thrown to the side and crashed against the wall. It desperately rolled over as Kanden advanced on it.

"Mercy-wait!" it cried, holding out its arms at Kanden, "Ancient-law! You must protect-command!"

Kanden stomped onto its chest and pinned it to the ground as he raised the Volt Driver. Samus hesitated for one crucial second, torn between hatred for pirates and her own morals.

"Wait!" she said. One second too late.

Kanden fired a shot into its head. It jolted for a moment as every synapse in its brain fired from the electricity, then fell still. Kanden looked over his shoulder at Samus, who was still holding out her hand.

"He was surrendering." She said.

Kanden stared at her. "Was he?" he said, "I couldn't tell."

Samus lowered her hand. _My hand_ , she thought, _it could have been the cannon_. _That would have stopped him_. She looked at the steaming corpse. _Was my heart really in it?_

Behind her, the pirates had finally noticed something was wrong. Now the lockdown worked against them, because the shields they thought would protect them were designed to only be opened from the lab-ward side. What was once a method of preventing intruders form getting in now kept them away from the enemies they were supposed to stop.

Samus watched them futilely shoot the shield for a moment before turning towards the lab. Kanden was still watching her. She ignored him and looked over her status.

 _9 full energy tanks and 2 points, 88 missiles. I'm good._ "They could have had normal pirates as the final guards," She said out loud, "But they used Enoema soldiers. In all likelihood, the project is on the other side of those doors."

Kanden growled and turned towards the hatch. Samus moved past him and accessed the control panel with her visor, breaking through the electronic locks. "Are you ready to meet your makers?"

The individuals on the other side of the door were not prepared for their lab to be breached. Form what Samus could see as she rushed in, cannon leveled, they were still working on their experiments. They were gathered around a number of tables scattered around the room, each tabletop doubling as a display screen. On the wall behind them were situated several holographic displays and a large metal tube. The scientists froze in fear as the hunters entered.

One scientist, either better prepared or more foolish, grabbed for something on a table. An ice beam shot quickly put a stop to that, freezing her arm to the table. Samus walked over as she gasped in pain and sharply brought her arm cannon down on the ice. The ice, as well as the limb, shattered under the blow. The scientist staggered back, clutching the stump of a limb to her chest.

Kanden moved towards the scientists, causing them to move farther away. Samus observed the scientists as they moved away from the pair, clustering together as if seeking safety in numbers. It was the first time she'd seen an Enoema other than Kanden, something she found fascinating. They lacked the protective armor, their skin made entirely of the green material that showed between Kanden's armored plates. They were almost as tall as Kanden, but their proportions were thinner with longer limbs. They also had only two eyes. Apparently the medical VI had neglected to mention Kanden had an entire extra set of eyes, which didn't exactly reassure Samus about whether Kanden was hiding things. Each was wearing a segmented robe, probably their equivalent of a lab coat.

"Are you the scientists working on the Enoema super soldier project?" Samus asked without preamble.

The scientist whose arm she removed staggered to the front of the group. "Curse you Hunter!" she spat, mandibles clicking in agitation, "We'll never tell you-"

Samus shot her in the head. The others jumped back from her corpse as it fell towards them. "I can't help but notice none of you have blown out your own brains." She said amiably, "So I can only assume none of you are equipped with suicide methods." She leaned across the table towards them, resting her elbows on the surface. "Why would that be?"

One scientist moved to the front of the group. Samus noted an unusual gait and looked at its legs. From the waist down flesh had been replaced by complex cybernetics. "We will tell you nothing." He said without the venom found in the tone of the others. Kanden started as the voice and stared at the speaker.

"Our will is unbreakable," he said, "We will tell you nothing."

Samus cocked her head. "Really?" she said, "I think you've told us quite a bit. For starters, I just asked whether that was the project you worked on. Most would say whatever they needed too to make us leave them alone. So what does that say about you?"

The scientist narrowed his eyes as he realized he had been manipulated. "You would have found out anyways," he said coldly, "Regardless, we won't-"

He was cut off as Kanden's hand closed around his throat. The others jumped back from Kanden as they realized just how close he had gotten.

"Kanden!" Samus said, aiming her weapon. Whatever was happening, she wasn't about to let him kill another source of good intel. "What are you-"

"You were there." Kanden said quietly. That one sentence silenced the others faster than any yelled command. Samus had seen this sort of thing in previous targets. When the loud ones got quiet, that was when you had a problem.

The scientist didn't seem to realize that, or perhaps he just didn't care. "Yes I was." He choked out, "I know better than anyone what you're capable of, Subject K-173. And that's why I won't tell you want you know."

Kanden didn't growl. He simply lifted the scientist into the air by his throat. The other scientists were pressed against the wall by now, staying silent in hope of avoiding his anger. "Why?" Kanden asked.

The scientist let out a choked laugh. "You're an unfinished product." He said, "I won't let you stand in the way of progress just because of your ego."

Kanden slammed him down onto a table, the screen shattering under the force. The scientist didn't react beyond an initial groan of pain. "You were the best of all our subjects," he continued, "You even broke out, which we didn't think could happen. But you're still incomplete."

Kanden raised a fist and punched him in the face, smashing his head down into the table. The scientist shook his head and spat a stream of blood to the side. "And you tore me in half. I'm still bitter over that."

The scientist reached out and slapped his palm on to the surface of the table. The damaged surface stuttered for a moment, then a text box flashed as it registered his palm print. "Though I must commend you on your choice of table." He said smugly.

"Warning," a robotic voice blared from the ceiling, "Subject release activated. Omega authorization, no override. Please observe safety precautions."

"I was there for your birth, Subject K-173," the scientist said, "Now I'll be there for your death."

The lights on the side of the metal tube on the wall blinked out. Pipes set into its base gurgled as they drained liquid. It hissed and the side split, revealing its contents.

The being inside was massive, standing head and shoulders above Kanden. Unlike Kanden its armor covered every inch, from the fingers to the neck. Four large eyes opened on its head, each with minute details moving within them. Both forearms bore a Volt Driver and one slid into the deployed position as Samus watched.

It stepped out of the pod, its footsteps shaking the ground. Tubes popped free from its body and its armor readjusted to cover the ports. It looked over the room, pausing on Samus and Kanden.

" **Analysis: Unknown hostiles detected** ," it said in a voice like Kanden had taken up chain smoking and gravel gargling, " **Objective: Eliminate hostiles**." An orb of electricity crackled into existence at the tip of its Volt Driver.

"Well," Samus said, drawing a bead on its head and charging a shot, "Shit."

* * *

AN: Yay, finally got the chapter up! Sorry about the wait.

So I tried to do some more subtle stuff in this chapter in regards to Kanden. Not sure how well that works given the lack of real hints before that but oh well. And since I didn't fit it into the actual chapter:

 _**Enoema: This reclusive species is descended from slug-like life forms in aquatic environments. Though they lost the water-breathing capabilities they gained a cartilaginous skeleton and electroreceptors. While this species has made some progress with the Galactic Federation, the Space Pirates found them in their early space exploratory phase and therefore command the loyalty of most of the population.**_

I designed them that way after basically imagining Kanden without the armor and less muscled. The result was slimy and thin, hence the slug ancestry. The cartilaginous skeleton is good for flexibility but not so much for bracing strong muscles. Kanden's had that problem fixed, another detail the VI missed. That's two things so far, not a good track record.

As for the super soldier's design, I needed a way of making a more intimidating Kanden while keeping the same basic design. Visually that's done by armoring the glaring weakspots on Kanden, letting him dual wield, and just making him bigger. There are other things, but you don't get to know that until next chapter. Feel free to guess anyways, you might have a better idea than what I'm planning. If so, I'll give you credit.

Please leave reviews and feedback. I'll even take pointing out typos, I just want to better myself.


	5. Chapter 5

_**Enoema Supersoldier: The apex product of the Enoema experiments. Its original mind has been completely wiped away, replaced by tactical data and combat programming. Its full carapace armor is augmented by powerful electromagnetic shielding, while twin Volt Drivers pose a severe offensive threat.**_

Samus ducked under an orb of electricity as the super soldier opened fire. She fired a charged plasma shot at the figure, its massive bulk presenting a wonderful target. It barely seemed to notice as the blast washed over its armor.

"Yes!" Cackled the scientist in Kanden's grip, "Kill them! Make them-"

Tired of his yelling, Kanden lifted him and tossed the scientist towards the super soldier. The soldier immediately abandoned its attack to catch the scientist in its other arm. It twisted around, putting itself between the scientist and the hunters, as Kanden fired a barrage of Volt Driver shots. They had even less of an effect than Samus's shots, the electricity crackling across its armor towards its weapons.

It turned back towards them and fired another shot, larger than the first. Samus dodged to the side, taking note of its protection of the scientist. Kanden stepped up onto the table and leapt towards the soldier, firing all the while. The soldier saw him out of the corner of its eye and moved to counter him.

Its free hand shot out and grabbed Kanden by the throat as he flew towards it. The soldier staggered slightly as it adjusted to the weight, but then heaved upwards to hold Kaden straight off the ground. Kaden yelled in anger, only slightly stifled by the hand crushing his throat, and rammed the barrel of the Volt Driver into the elbow of the offending limb.

Samus saw the conflict out of the corner of her eye as she moved, not opening fire to keep the soldiers attention off her. _If Kanden was so polite as to provide a distraction_ , she thought as she ran, _It would be disrespectful to not make use of it._

The soldier's arm shuddered as Kanden fired, but otherwise showed no reaction. Once more the electricity of the shots was drawn off to be absorbed into its weapons. Taking its time, it raised its weapon to aim at its trapped foe. It charged a shot, a ball of lighting crackling to life at the end of its Volt Driver, then fired into Kanden's chest.

Kanden jerked in its grip as the shot impacted, but refused to yell in pain. Under his skin, the primitive version of the soldier's systems worked to absorb the electricity. Without that, the shock would surely have shut down his heart and fried his synapses. As it was, it only stung a bit. The soldier cocked its head in confusion for a moment as it wondered why the shot didn't kill Kanden. The moment ended as the relevant data was retrieved from its internal tactical archive.

It turned, swinging Kanden up into an arc before slamming him down onto a table. The edge of the table met Kanden's back halfway up his spine. The metal surface warped as Kenden's vertebrae fractured. Kanden remained silent, refusing to show weakness to his rival. The soldier lifted him up, his legs hanging limp as he continued to fire, and tossed him across the room. The wound wouldn't kill him, but it would keep him out of the way for a minute as he healed.

The soldier turned away from him to find its other enemy. A scream caught its attention. It whirled towards the scientists, finding Samus standing among them. She held one in a head lock, the barrel of her arm cannon pressed against its head. Its arm snapped up, Volt Driver trained on Samus's head.

" **Release the hostage**." The solider commanded.

"No." Samus retorted.

The soldier began to charge a shot. " **Release the hostage. Now**."

In response, Samus switched the arm cannon to the missile launcher. The plates of the arm cannon slid out, the tip of the ordinance centimeters away from the scientist. The soldier's arm wavered. Not by much, but enough for Samus to notice.

"No, I don't think I will."

" **Release him or die**."

Samus shook her head slightly. "I don't think you'll kill me. You protected the first scientist, so I'm guessing you have two current objectives: Kill intruders, and protect the scientists." She cocked her head. "The fact that you haven't shot yet seems to indicate 'kill intruders' doesn't override the other."

The soldier remained silent.

"Of course," Samus continued, "You can always shoot me now and prove me wrong."

The soldier considered this. " **If you kill your hostage** ," it intoned, " **You will have no leverage over me.** "

Samus inclined her head. "True." She conceded, "But I don't have to kill him. I just need him to stay between me and your gun."

Samus pulled her cannon away from the hsoatge, aiming at the soldier. The targeting systems locked onto her foe even as she moved, charging the missile launcher. A full set of seeker missiles shot towards the soldier, Samus already charging her next attack.

The soldier had a brief moment to react as the missiles shot across the space between them. Rather than try to dodge, it tensed for a moment before unleashing a burst of electricity. The energy coursed across its armor, shifting and flowing. As this missiles approached, fingers of lightning leapt out to meet them. The bolts collided with the projectiles, causing them to detonate harmlessly in midair.

Samus cursed, cancelling the next group of missiles. The soldier took one step forward, raising its weapon again, then hesitated as it remembered the hostage. Samus opened up with a flurry of plasma beam shots aimed at its head and chest.

It stumbled back as sheer volume managed to overwhelm the sealed armor, warming the flesh beneath. It raised one forearm to try and shield its head while the other stubbornly aimed the Volt Driver at Samus. Samus continued her onslaught, targeting the portions of the armor that were beginning to warp under the heat of the plasma beam. Behind it, Kanden was pulling himself up with a table as his legs began to spasm back to life.

Samus heard a metallic clatter as she prepared to fire a charged shot. A moment later something jammed itself into the weaker armor between her helmet and gorget. She released her hostage and jerked away as her shields jerked to life, trying to protect her from the attack. As she turned, she saw one of the other scientists had armed itself with a dissection tool, an electro-blade humming at the tip.

She fired into its chest as she stepped back, the plasma beam nearly disintegrating its unarmored torso. At the same time she grabbed the hostage by the coat and pulled him in front of her again. The soldier hastily jerked its arm up and fired into the ceiling as the scientist came between it and its intended target.

"T-825," the head scientist yelled from behind the soldier, "Override command hierarchy, authority phrase 'Moon of Eneres'. Prime unchanged, elimination overrules rest!"

The soldier stiffened. " **Command acknowledged. Altering tactics.** "

Its aim shifted and the soldier opened fire. The scientists screamed as Volt Driver blasts cut them down. In the blink of an eye, Samus stood alone. _It was a clever move_ , she reflected on as she moved, _to kill them. Killing me is more important than saving them, so it eliminated any potential conflict of interest by eliminating them itself._

She ducked behind a table as Volt Driver shots filled the air. Samus switched to the ice beam and began to charge a shot as she heard Kanden begin to run forward. The soldier turned toward Kanden as a cluster of stingmissiles were intercepted by its countermeasures. Seeing his attack had failed, Kanden shifted the target of his charge.

He slammed into the lip of a lab table. It held for a moment before the force sheared ots support bolts. Kanden grabbed the metal slab as it slid free, twisting towards the solder as he heaved upwards. The tabletop spun end over end towards the soldier as Kanden released it.

The soldier lashed out as the table, swatting it aside just before it crashed into its chest. The scientist cowered behind the soldier, attempting to keep it between himself and the hunters. As the soldier switched its attention to Kanden, Samus rose from behind a lab table and opened fire.

The soldier caught sight of her out of the corner of its eye just before her shot hit. The ice spreader encased it in ice, sending the scientist scrambling back to avoid being caught in its effect. Kanden closed the distance between them as the ice began to crack, the soldier attempting to free itself. Knowing his shots either wouldn't work, Kanden grabbed the tabletop from the ground and lifted it over head.

The soldier was nearly free when Kanden brought the table down on its trapped head. The ice around its torso shattered under the blow. It attempted to stagger back, stumbling and falling over the ice that still encased its legs. Kanden shifted his grip and brought the edge of the table down on the soldier's abdomen. Its breath hissed as the armor cracked under the blow. Seeing his success, Kanden attempted to repeat the attack.

The soldier was ready this time. Its Volt Driver slid into its retracted form on the back of its forearm and it caught the edge of the table with both hands. It wrenched the table to the side, ripping it out of Kanden's hands and putting him off balance. As Kanden stepped forward to regain his balance, the soldier shifted its legs and powered upward. Its fist collided with Kanden's face, snapping his head back. The blow was fueled by the soldier's legs, back, and arm, powerful enough to nearly throw Kanden from his feet. It grabbed Kanden's ankle, pulling upward as he rose to finish knocking him off his feet. Plasma beam shots impacted its armor, but it ignored them. It Volt Driver slid into its active position around its free hand as it twisted and threw Kanden across the room. It completed its turn, bringing the Volt Driver around to point at Samus, an orb of electricity charged at the end.

Samus prepared to dodge as she saw the Volt Driver aim her way. Peculiarly, the soldier didn't fire immediately. Samus hesitated in her fire. _What's he…_

The orb shifted and launched forward, twisting and elongating into a spear-like bolt of energy. Samus's eyes widened as she threw herself to the ground. The bolt flew overhead, small bolts of electricity flickering to every bit of metal it passed. The projectile slammed into the wall behind her, exploding into a blast of lightning and melting a crater in the plating. Her suit shuddered as electricity washed over it. _What the hell was that?! It wasn't anything like…_ She groaned in her helmet. _A charge beam combo. Great._

The soldier glanced over at Kanden, who was already moving in to attack again. It opened fire on Samus to drive her back into cover, keeping an eye on Kanden as he approached. When he got close enough, the soldier activated its other Volt Driver and swung it up to aim. Kanden got a few more steps before the charge combo slammed into his chest. He stumbled in his charge as his body attempted to absorb the energy, a molten crater melted in his chestplate from the blast.

The soldier stopped his suppressing fire on Samus and moved towards Kanden, one Volt Driver collapsing back around its forearm. It hooked one foot under the lose tabletop, kicking it up to catch in its free hand. Kanden shook himself out of his daze as the soldier approached.

The table swung around and slammed into his side, driving him into the wall with a crash. The soldier pulled back the metal slab, allowing Kanden to push himself away from the wall, before bringing it down in an overhead blow. Kanden was thrown to the ground by the hit, already reaching out to push himself up off the floor. Before he could, the soldier collapsed its other Volt Driver, gripped the table with both hands, and brought it down on the back of his head.

It connected with a crack, driving Kaden to the ground. The soldier raised it again and brought it down, shrugging off Samus's attempts to draw his attention. The attack caught Kanden's head between the table edge and the floor. The table bent for a moment as it impacted his armored skull, but the soldier's strength drove it down. A crunch filled the air as Kanden's skull caved. The soldier lifted the table as Kanden's efforts to rise degenerated into twitching. It brought the table down again, causing Kanden to twitch one last time before falling still.

The soldier stepped back and rolled him over with his foot. It observed the motionless body for a moment before reactivating its Volt driver and firing another charge beam combo into the weakened portion of Kanden's armor, just to be sure.

It looked over its fallen predecessor for a moment, then turned to look at Samus. She stood across the room, arm cannon still raised. Samus's eyes flicked between the supersoldier and Kanden's still form. Briefly considering her current armament, the combat capabilities of her foe, and the fact that she was now alone, she made the logical decision.

Samus moved quickly to the doorway, opening fire with a barrage of ice beam shots. They didn't harm the soldier, but the chunks of ice that formed over its eyes and joints slowed it down. Samus ran out into the hallway, accessing the control panel with her scan visor to drop the shields. _Ok, this isn't good_ , she thought as she ran towards the pirates, _Plan A: Find something here that'll hurt him, use that to take him out._ Rather than attack the pirates she avoided them, leaping over their heads and shoving them out of the way. A few opened fire, but they hesitated to shoot into the midst of their own soldiers. _Plan B: Get out of the base, go all the way back to my ship, and get a GF armada to level the whole facility._

Behind her, the soldier emerged into the hall. It surveyed the room before activating both of its Volt Drivers. " **Analysis: Unknown hostiles detected. Objective: Eliminate hostiles.** " The pirates around it barely had time to acknowledge the statement before it opened fire and cut them down. Confusion spread through the group as they realized they were facing two enemies. The majority of the group opened fire on the soldier, who was actively attacking them and standing clear of allied troops. It barely flinched as the energy bolts peppered its armor, returning fire with cold deliberation.

Samus slowed as she realized what was happening. _It's attacking the pirates?_ A grin spread across her face. _Those idiots never gave it an IFF beyond themselves. I'd consider this too good to be true if that wasn't wasting time._

A few of the pirates around her noticed her hesitation and opened fire on her. She dropped into morph ball, boosting into their legs and toppling them. She rose back to normal from behind them and fired into the prone pirates. They spasmed and died as she looked at a noise to her side. A pirate was manning another thanix gun and was turning the barrel towards her.

"Excuse me," she said as she shot the pirate in the head and ran towards the gun, "I need to borrow that."

She shoved the corpse off the handles of the gun and turned it towards the supersoldier. It had killed nearly half of the pirates in the hall, with little more that scorched armor to show for it. Samus grabbed the handle of the gun, the alien designed grip strange in her hand, and centered the crosshairs on the soldier's chest. She grinned and pulled the trigger.

The bolt of energy streaked across the distance between them and struck it in the chest. The soldier staggered back and howled in pain, the first noise Samus had heard it make besides speaking. The blast had blown a crater in the chestplate, the ragged edges still glowing from the heat. Steam rose from the hole, though no blood began to flow. Looking at the wound, Samus could tell that was because the shot had cauterized the exposed flesh.

The pirates stopped their attack as the soldier swayed and dropped to one knee. One of the pirates ignited an energy scythe and began to move towards it before another grabbed it by tha arm and pulled it back. Apparently the pirates didn't know if they were allowed to put down their superior's project. Not that their hesitation would stop Samus. She stood at the back of the groups, the pirates seeming to think she'd continued on her escape and not bothering, or wanting, to go after her. She shifted the weapon to target the soldier's head.

The soldier caught a glimpse of her through the cluster of pirates. Roaring in a Kanden-like way, it rose to its feet, aiming and firing at the weapon. Samus dodged out of the way as the charge beam combo, which she had taken to calling the electrobolt, blasted the weapon apart. The pirates were torn, half aiming at the soldier and half turning to see what it had shot at.

Now jolted into action, the soldier charged forward again. The pirates closest to it screamed as it blasted them, alerting those who had turned away. Some turned back to attack the soldier, while the others opened fire on Samus. For her part, Samus continued her escape, ducking through another doorway and moving into the bowels of the base. The pirates considered following her, but chose to focus on the immediate threat.

Inside the lab, the scientist crawled out from under the table he had used to hide himself. As he listened, the sound of the battle quickly faded as the soldier eliminated its opponents. It was a shame about the guards, but this just went to show the superiority of his project to the traditional soldiers. He stood up and walked over to the body of Kanden.

He clattered to himself in amusement. The original had thought himself capable of defeating something designed specifically to surpass him. How quaint.

He turned away from the corpse and walked over to a computer console. A short command code brought up the comms. "This is the head scientist of scientific outpost YV-836. I'm requesting a recovery team be sent to this base. The location is compromised, and there's an old project here that needs to be recovered." On the floor behind him, Kanden's hand twitched.

* * *

Samus ducked through another doorway, firing over her shoulder. The return shot nearly hit her as the door irised shut. The pirates had delayed the soldier for a few minutes, but apparently it was smart enough to check the security footage to track her.

The door opened and the soldier stomped into the room just in time to see Samus change into the morph ball and roll into a vent. _Ha!_ Samus thought as it futile tried to shoot into the opening, _try and get me-_

The vent opening screeched as a large green larva like creature pushed its way in. It twisted towards Samus, four beady eyes glaring at her. _Right_ , she thought as she rolled away, S _tinglarva. Forgot about that._

It hissed and shot after her. Its movement was hampered by the tight fit of the vent, but its speed and strength allowed it to push through. Through the morph ball's sensors, Samus watched as it began to gain. The morph ball glowed for a moment before boosting forward, increasing the distance between them. The stinglarva hissed and a click echoed through the vent. A moment later, something exploded just behind the larva. If she had a mouth, Samus would have grinned. _Too fat for the sting missiles to get past. How's all that armor and muscle working out for you?_

She dropped a cluster of bombs and swerved into a branching vent. Its vision impaired by the flash, the stinglarva continued past the opening. It hastily stopped as it realized her trick and began to edge backward. By the time it got its head back to the opening, Samus was already turning into another vent. It hissed and twisted into the vent after her.

As she moved, Samus consulted the map of the facility. She knew she couldn't just escape, so she needed somewhere that would give her the advantage. One particular room caught her eye. The reactor room sat at the bottom of the facility, a tall cylinder stretching into the ground. Samus considered her options. _I can keep running, hoping it doesn't manage to kill me before I can find a better option. Or I can go to the reactor and hope my hunch is right._

She decided on the second option, turning into a new vent. The soldier slammed into the vent just behind her, having taken a shorter route through the vents. It twisted and shot after Samus, who had boosted forward to get away. It hissed, head crackling with electricity, and tried to close the gap, hoping to ram her again.

Samus dropped a bomb, disorienting it for a moment. It was just long enough for her to emerge into a vertical shaft, activating the spider ball to lock herself in place and cancel out her momentum. As soon as she was slow enough she rolled into the shaft and dropped down. The stinglarva tried to follow her, but the lack of surface to propel off of limited its downward speed.

Samus hit the bottom of the shaft, barely taking the time to note the loss of energy before she rolled out of the metallic crater she had created and into a vent. The stinglarva hit a moment after, portions of its armor cracking due to its less compact form. Likewise, it followed Samus without regard for the damage it had taken.

Samus reached the end of the vent, boosting through the grate and into the room. A pirate manning a console spun towards the noise, only to be greeted by a plasma beam as Samus regained her normal form. Samus ran over to the console and tapped into it with her visor, keenly aware of the approaching stinglarva.

Samus was standing on a raised walkway that ran around the circumference of the room. Below, she could see the raised dome of the reactor, with the rest hidden beneath the flat floor. With a command, the floor retracted into the walls, leaving only the top of the reactor and a few sections of floor radiating outward from it. Below that Samus could see the tall column of the reactor, hidden beneath the matter that filled the shaft. She had activated the maintenance mode, allowing the pirates to send in drones to monitor and repair the reactor.

Samus vaulted the railing and dropped to one of the walkways as the soldier emerged from the wall behind her. It looked around in confusion before catching a glimpse of Samus as she ran to the central dome. It leapt over the railing, landing heavily on a walkway. It froze as the metal beneath it creaked under its weight. Samus took the opportunity to shoot it in the head with the plasma beam. In this situation, Samus had the advantage. Her smaller size allowed her to navigate the thin walkways more easily, while the soldier's bulk became a disadvantage.

It straightened up and glared at Samus. There were still several cracks in its armor, though those were already shrinking as the nanobots repaired the damage. Samus's gaze fell to its chest. Though the flesh had already healed, the armor was still repairing, leaving a fist sized hole in the plates. This was what Samus aimed at when she opened fire with the plasma beam, hoping to scorch a vital organ.

The first shot struck home, eliciting a wince of pain from the soldier. It raised a forearm to shield the wound, opening fire with the other. Samus ducked the first shot, retaliating with another set of plasma beam shots aimed at the soldier's face. Lenses snapped shut over the soldier's eyes, protecting them from the heat. In the moment it was blinded, Samus jumped to another walkway. At the same time, the soldier fired the electrobolt at the space where she had been, trying to keep Samus from attacking while it was blinded.

Its eyes opened again just in time for Samus to shoot it in the head again. It swung around to aim its weapon at her, but she was already moving. They continued the process for a bit, Samus dodging its attacks and it shrugging hers off. Eventually Samus chose to mix up the fomula. Rathar than sto p as soon as she was out of the line of fire, she continued to move until she was behind the soldier. As it turned, she charged a shot and fired.

It managed to turn to face her before the ice spreader hit it. Its movements ground to a stop as ice spread across its body, locking its joints into place. Samus landed on the dome, watching as the soldier began to struggle and fracture the ice. She took aim and fired the ice spreader. Rather than shoot the soldier she fired on the walkway, ice spreading across the metal and water. As soon as the area surrounding it was covered in frost, she aimed at the motionless figure. Though the ice was almost completely broken, it served its purpose. Encasing the soldier and contacting the metal and water surrounding it, it diffused the electricity needed for its lightning shield.

The super missile hit its head, blasting the ice apart. It stepped back, the ice cracking beneath its weight. The soldier shook its head, the armor around its head severely fractured. It tensed and the electricity covering it surged back to its original levels. It stepped towards Samus, hesitating as it realized its footing was unsteady on the ice. Samus opened fire with the plasma beam, aiming for its wound and head.

It shielded its wound again and returned fire. Samus dodged most of them, but a few still struck her. The electricity scrambled her visor, forcing her to be defensive. As she dodged, she made a snap decision. She feigned disorientation as her visor rebooted, giving the soldier just enough time to line up a proper shot.

She fell into the water, wincing as she saw her energy drop. Immediately a warning flashed in her HUD. _Warning: Radiation detected. Do not deactivate armor._ The soldier walked cautiously forward and looked into the water, hoping to see her sinking to the bottom. It didn't notice the morph ball clinging to the underside of the walkway, circling around behind it. It did notice a splash as the morph ball boosted straight out of the water.

It whirled and lashed out as Samus regained her normal form, grabbing her by the helmet and lifting her into the air. The soldier raised its other hand and leveled its Volt Driver at her. Samus just grinned and pointed at the ground. The soldier's eyes followed her finger to find a black sphere sitting on the ice. A grey strip ran around its circumference, with a pair of white pulses circling along it.

The sodlier's eyes widened and it dropped Samus. The power bomb detonated as it tried to run, a sphere of white light rapidly expanding. The ice and water instantly evaporated in the intense heat. The soldier howled and staggered as the wave of energy passed through its armor and flesh, burning it at a cellular level. Samus watched calmly, shielded by her advanced Chozo tech.

As the light faded, the soldier tried to haul itself to its feet. All it succeeded in doing was staggering forward a bit before slipping on an unmelted section of ice. Samus walked after it, charging a shot. It heard the humming noise of her arm cannon and managed to force itself to its feet.

It spun towards Samus, still unsteady. Samus side stepped its upraised arm, rammed her arm cannon into its side, and fired. At such a close range, the soldier's counter measures didn't have enough time to activate. The super missile blew a hole in the soldier's armor, sending the already unsteady soldier staggering.

Trying to regain its footing, it stepped back. A mistake. What it stepped onto wasn't solid metal, but ice obscuring the water. It tried to pull itself back as it heard the crack, but in its unbalanced state there was nothing it could do. The ice under its foot broke, plunging its leg through the ice. The rest of its body followed, falling back and shattering the weakened ice.

Samus watched as it fell. It flailed for a moment, grasping at fragments of ice, but its dense mass dragged it down. She watched its shrinking form rapidly recede into the depths. It was too restrained to yell in fear, but bubbles floated to the surface all the same. Something she'd learned in her career was that no matter how invincible someone was or how much they could regenerate, none of that helped them breathe.

She launched herself upward, grabbing the railing of the walkway and pulling herself up. She walked over to the console and accessed it again, resealing the coolant pool. Just to be sure, she sent a pulse through the console and fried the controls, locking the floor in place. Turning away from the panel she walked back towards the air vent. Killing the soldier was all well and good, but she still had to complete her original mission.

* * *

Samus dropped out of the hatch on the ceiling, narrowly avoiding a pirate corpse. She walked into the lab, cannon raised in the case of any opposition. The lab was empty, with only the corpses on the ground to occupy it. Samus activated the thermal visor anyways, sweeping the room. She didn't find anything, but the things she didn't find were just as important.

Kanden's corpse was gone. She thought it might have been the scientist's doing, before she found the body of the cyborg who had hidden behind his soldier. Most of him at least. _Something certainly happened_ , Samus thought, _People don't usually remove their own heads._ She switched to the x-ray visor, hoping to find clues. What she found was a wall noticeably thinner than the others. She looked around for an access panel. _Screw it._ She didn't find one so she chose the more direct method of fire power.

Samus stepped over the broken door to find a cramped corridor. She walked forward, keeping an eye out for traps. She found one, a shredder mine attached to the wall. _Well that's a hint on its own,_ she thought as she deactivated it with her visor, _If Kanden came through here, that would have been set off._

She moved past it and found herself at a door. It was sealed shut, with a scanner to one side. Samus hummed to herself as she considered how to get past it. Trying to discern what the scanner was for, she found what appeared to be an optical sensor. As well as liquid that was dripping down the wall from the panel.

On a hunch, she reached out and knocked on the door. There was no response. Then a light flashed on the panel and the door slid aside. She walked through and found herself in a smaller laboratory.

While the room had once been lit by bring lights, most had been shattered, leaving only a few to dimly light the room. Racks of surgical equipment and tubes of chemicals lined the walls. A large metal table dominated the room, a spider-like surgery droid suspended above it. The back wall held several large glass tubes, each big enough to fit another one of those super soldiers.

Or at least it did. The tubes were shattered, clear fluid spilled across the floor. Samus could see several organic masses sitting at the bottom of each. Some were large enough to be a full enoema, while others were barely larger than her fist.

She raised her arm cannon and stepped into the room, sweeping it back and forth.

"They're dead."

She spun towards the noise, charging a shot. Kanden stood motionless in the corner, the circular lights on his chest dimmed to near darkness. He raised his head and looked at her, meeting her gaze through her visor.

"The scientist?" Samus asked warily. In response, Kanden tossed something to her. The object bounced with a squelch before rolling to a stop at her foot. It was the head of the lead scientist.

"He survived last time," Kanden said quietly, "Not again."

Samus cautiously lowered her arm cannon. Keeping Kanden in her line of sight, she walked over to the broken tubes. Kanden didn't follow, his head moving to watch her. The remains of the soldiers lay motionless in shallow puddles of liquid. Most seemed to have died quietly, but a few bore electrical burns from Volt Driver shots. One had been dragged halfway out of the tube, shredded by the jagged shards of glass.

"You were certainly thorough." She commented.

Kanden rumbled quietly in reply.

She turned away from the tubes and looked over the equipment on the walls. Several tanks held portions of carapace armor, likely in preparation to be grafted to the subjects. Others held severed portions of failed subjects, along with notes on the vivisections. Samus found a computer and tapped into it with her visor.

"I found the experiment records," she said, "We'll have to delete them. It won't stop the pirates, but it'll put them back by a few years."

"Good." Kanden rumbled.

A few commands later and the data systems fried themselves, deleting all trace of the experiments. Samus stepped back as the screen degenerated into static before displaying an error screen. That would do for the electronic evidence. Samus picked up an injector tube from a nearby rack and scanned it.

 _**Enoema Enhancement Formula: Contains various chemicals meant to stimulate muscle and bone growth while enhancing the body's healing process and stimuli sensitivity.**_

"We'll have to destroy this too." She said, "Otherwise they'll just retrieve the materials and work back from there."

Kanden walked over to her and looked at the tube she was holding. "This is what they used."

Samus glanced at him. "Yes. If we don't destroy it, they'll use it to make better soldiers than you."

Kanden nodded. Then he punched Samus in the head. Caught off guard, Samus rocked forward and hit her head on the table. Before she could recover, Kanden grabbed her by the head and threw her across the room. Samus crashed into the shelves, shattering vials and knocking tools to the ground.

As she stood back up, Kanden pulled another injector vial from the shelf. As Smaus aimed her cannon at him he stabbed it into the exposed flesh of his arm. It hissed and injected the liquid into his system. Kanden's eyes widened as he felt the chemicals mix with his blood stream.

"You idiot!" Samus yelled, "Do you even know what you're doing?"

"Yes." Kanden hissed. He dropped the vial to the ground and crushed it underfoot. "What I came here to do." There was something new to his voice, a quiet predatory tone underlying the dumb brute Samus had become accustomed to.

"You said you didn't want them to make something better than you." Samus said, beginning to charge a shot.

"Yes." Kanden said, "But if they could make something better than me, they could also make me better."

Samus fired. Kanden lunged to the side, allowing the plasma beam to fly past him. He rushed forward, ramming into Samus before she could fire again. One hand grabbed her arm cannon and forced it up. A missile flew harmlessly into the ceiling as Samus tried to shoot him.

"What was it you said?" Kanden asked mockingly. Samus reached behind her with her free hand and grabbed a surgical tool. As Kanden grabbed her cannon and twisted it away from him, she brought the tool around and stabbed him in the throat.

"If you need something from someone," Kanden said, his speech barely impeded by the blade jutting from his neck, "wait until you get it, then kill them."

He bradded her throat with his other hand and lifted her before slamming her back into the edge of the operating table. Samus's shields flared and she grunted as her spine bent. He grabbed the arm cannon with one hand forcing it down and away while ramming his knee into her chest to pin her between him and the table. "I have what I need from you." Kanden said.

He grabbed the tool sticking out of his neck and pulled it free. "And I won't let you get in my way."

He stabbed at Samus's throat. He shields flickered to life, deflecting the blow. Kanden tilted his head. "I've been watching you. Your shields activate when attacked by energy or fast moving objects."

Samus tried to tuck her chin down and shield her throat, but Kanden pushed her head up as he pressed the blade to her throat. "But it doesn't do anything for slow pressure."

He pushed down on the blade. Already past the shield, nothing appeared to protect Samus. The blade pushed in a bit, then stopped. Though the tubing of her neck wasn't as durable as the full armor plates, it was still effective. Kanden tilted his head and began to saw at the material, hoping to cut through.

Samus tried to throw off his grip but she couldn't shake the larger hunter. Bent halfway over the table, she couldn't get enough force behind her movements to break free, while her inability to move stifled her ability to activate the morph ball. _Damn! When'd he get so smart?_ She remembered the hints of the more cunning individual, the way he played the berserker to lure his enemies into a particular mindset. _Or has he just been playing me the whole time?_

As Kanden sawed, Samus's free hand dropped to her thigh. The armor split apart, revealing the grip of the Paralyzer. She pulled it from its holster and jammed it into Kanden's side. He paused for a moment, then continued cutting. Samus didn't bother threatening him, simply pulling the trigger and shooting him at point blank range.

Kanden shuddered as the electricity coursed through his nerves, meant to trigger pain receptors and shut down movement. Then the systems embedded in his body triggered and absorbed the shock. Kadnen shook it off and kept going. The systems pulsed and activated the electrical shielding that had shielded him from automatic targeting. An alarm flashed in Samus's HUD as the energy began to drain her shields. _Half energy and six missiles. Not the best situation._

Samus looked around for another option. By now Kanden was nearly halfway through the material covering her throat. Her gaze fell on a nearby console. She holstered her pistol and hacked into it with her visor, hoping it was what she thought it was.

Above them, the surgical droid whirred to life. A red light flicked on at the center of the spidery limbs and an electronic buzz sounded as it activated. Kanden looked up at the noise. At the same time the droid dropped down onto him, saws and drills gouging at him. He howled and tried to force it away with the hand holding the blade. In doing so, he inadvertently weakened hi hold on Samus.

She activated the missile launcher and pulled. The shifting of the metal plates combined with his distraction allowed her to pull her arm free. Samus immediately slammed the barrel into his face, firing a missile at the same time. Kanden rocked back from the explosive punch, the whirring arms of the surgical robot following him and trying to pull him back. As he moved back, Samus took advantage of the extra space to drop into the morph ball and roll to the side. A moment later, Kanden stumbled as the bombs she left at his feet detonated.

Samus regained her normal form on the other side of the room, already aiming at Kanden. At the same time he reached up and grabbed the bot by the base of its legs, dragging it close. With the other, he rammed the Volt Driver into its eye and fired. The droid shuddered and fell limp as the electricity fried its circuits. Kanden didn't get to enjoy his victory as a missile blasted him from behind. He turned to face Samus, the flow of blood already slowing from his wounds.

"You can't win." Kanden growled. "You're low on ammo and energy after fighting that knockoff alone." He raised the Volt Driver, charging a shot.

Samus cocked her head. "Maybe. But I don't have to win against you."

She fired a spread of plasma beam shots. Kanden dodged a few, but most flew wide. "Your aim is slipping!" He mocked.

Samus grinned. "No it isn't."

Kanden's eyes narrowed and he glanced over his shoulder. Behind him, the shelves that had held the materials needed to make him stronger were smoldering.

"No!" Kanden roared. He whirled on Samus. Instead of attacking him, she fired a cluster of seeker missiles at another section of shelves. Kanden lunged towards them, trying to block the missiles with his body. A few were intercepted, but the rest flew past and detonated amidst the chemicals. A chain reaction began, flames spreading through the shelves. The fire suppression systems began to activate, but a few well-placed wave beam shots shorted out the mechanism.

Kanden howled in anger and abandoned his attack, moving to salvage the burning materials. Samus aimed at his head and began to charge a plasma shot. Naturally, everything went south as soon as she had the upper hand.

"Warning," a robotic voice blared through the intercom as red lights began to flash, "Obstruction detected in primary coolant line. Reactor overload imminent. Estimated time to detonation: Five minutes."

"Oh for the love of-" Samus muttered. She deactivated her cannon and looked at Kanden. He still ignored her, plunging his hands into the fire to pull out a few more vials. She briefly considered trying to get him out. Sure he'd tried to kill her, but how much of that was pirate programming?

She decided it was a moot point. He wouldn't listen to her, and she wasn't about to risk her own neck to save him. "Stay and burn with your precious prize!" she yelled as she ran out of the room, "I'm going to live!"

Kanden didn't react, continuing to pull parts from the fire. Samus burst out of the hall into the main lab, making a beeline towards the door. Escaping the facility turned out to be much easier than infiltrating it. Most of the pirates were dead, while the rest were occupied with their own survival.

Samus cut a path to the landing pad, sending a signal to her ship to come to her location. There was two minutes left on the clock when her ship blew the doors to the landing platform apart. She didn't bother ordering the ship to land, simply leaping up to the top of the ship and dropping through the hatch.

She ordered the autopilot to go into orbit before she even sat down. A minute later, she was sitting high above the planet's surface with scanners pointed at the location of the lab. She didn't have to wait long before there was a pinprick of light, followed by a burst of force and radiation.

Samus leaned back in her chair, deactivating her armor. _Well… I can't say I didn't expect it to end something like this._ She sat there for a few more minutes before tapping a command into the console. Her ship banked away from the planet, calculating the FTL jump to the nearest Federation system _. I wonder if I can collect a bounty for this?_

Her ship leapt away into space, leaving a smoldering crater on the planet below as the only evidence of her presence.

* * *

"Warning," the intercom blared, "One minute remaining before reactor detonation."

Kanden ignored it. Samus was already gone, having left almost as soon as the warning began. Practical. Efficient. Kanden had considered going after her, but his ship had no auto pilot and he didn't have the skills to hijack a pirate craft.

So he kept pulling things from the fire, committed to his final action. Most of it was ruined. Not that it would matter soon. He clatter-laughed bitterly to himself as he realized, too late, that he could have simply threatened a pirate into taking him with them.

"Warning: Reactor detonation in ten seconds."

Kanden stopped his actions and stepped back. It didn't matter anymore. He knew that, no matter how he acted, he wasn't strong enough to survive a nuclear blast.

"Reactor detonation in five seconds."

Kanden closed his eyes and waited for the end.

"Four. Three. Two. One."

Nothing happened. Kanden hesitantly opened his eyes. What had happened? Was the computer's timer off?

"Kanden." Said a voice behind him.

Instinct kicked in and Kanden spun around, aiming and charging the Volt Driver. The figure standing in the door way was already aiming a weapon at him. Green armor plates covered its form, with a circular golden visor covering the face.

"Weavel." Kanden snarled.

"Correct." Weavel replied in his monotone voice.

"Why didn't the base explode?" Kanden asked, curiosity overriding hostility.

"It did." Weavel answered, "Just not it the way you're thinking. The reactor was never going critical. That was me, playing a fabricated warning over the intercom. Enough of our bases explode around her that the Hunter has an almost automatic reaction to start running."

"So how did it explode?"

"A bomb." Weavel said bluntly. "Not a big one, but engineered to put off enough radiation to mimic one. The lower sections of this base are fortified, enough that you wouldn't know it went off unless you went outside."

Kanden thought about it for a moment. It made sense. Play a fake warning to drive the hunter off, then mimic a blast to make her think the base was gone. But that still left one hole in the logic.

"Why?" he asked, "What's in this base that you're willing to blow up the rest of it for?"

Weavel lowered the Battlehammer. "You."

Kanden snarled and fired. Weavel raised an arm and an energy shield flared into existence. The shot dissipated harmlessly on contact. "You haven't even heard my deal yet." He said calmly.

Kanden hesitated, another shot already charged. "Deal?"

"Of course." Weavel said, dismissing the shield. "We are always looking to recruit individuals with certain… desirable traits. Your savagery, difficulty to kill, and surprisingly well hidden cunning streak all make you the kind of being we would like to recruit."

"Recruit for what?" Kanden growled. He was interested now. Apparently flattery worked even on genetically manipulated killing machines.

"Many things." Weavel said as he walked closer. "Some of which I'm sure you would be interested in."

Kanden thought it over. "You haven't mentioned what I would get out of this."

Weavel gestured around them. "This was one of our projects. You were willing to fight the Hunter for whatever you could salvage, and doing a good job at that. Imagine what you could get if we offered you our technology willingly."

Kanden's gun arm began to lower slightly. Weavel could tell he nearly had him.

"Think about it. How powerful could you become with our backing? We could make you into something that would put the colossus you fought to shame! You would be known throughout the galaxy as the deadliest hunter to ever live!"

Kanden paused, then lowered his gun. "On one condition." He said, "You stop making other Enoema experiments."

Weavel nodded his head. "Of course." He said, making a mental note to hide any evidence of the other labs. "So do we have a deal?"

Kanden nodded briskly. "Yes."

"Excellent." Weavel subtly pressed a button on his gauntlet. The squad of commandos that was standing in the hallway quickly left the area, not wanting to aggravate Kanden.

Weavel stepped to the side and held out an arm towards the door. "After you." He said. "We have much to discuss."

* * *

AN: Hahahahaha! Now the real fun can begin.

I finally got to put some ideas to writing for this. The Volt Driver combo for one, though it changed quite a bit. It was originally a giant ball of lightning that traveled slowly, with smaller bolts of lightning jumping to any target within range, but I decided the exploding lightning laser made more sense from both a a story and weapons designer standpoint.

Another was the way Samus killed the soldier. And yes, it is dead. It didn't have some 'breathe underwater' gadget, and Samus blew its face armor apart just in case it did. That has always been my fallback plan for killing invincible things. It doesn't matter if you're invulnerable like Superman or regenerative like Wolverine, if you don't have some way to breathe underwater you can be drowned. Ironically, this makes Aquaman one of the hardest to kill superheroes. Well played Aquaman. Well played.

There are a few other things I'll clarify in response to reviews. It's been pointed out that Samus beat Kanden with far less equipment in Hunters. This is something I noticed in the beginning of this story, which is why Kanden utilizes abilities he didn't have in that game. Samus can upgrade herself, why can't he? I gave him the regeneration to set him apart from Samus. Where she'll shrug off the attacks, he'll take the damage but it won't bother him for long. As to why he poses a threat in this situation, his electroleech systems negate the wave beam, he's strong enough to quickly escape the ice beam, and he can regenerate from the plasma and power beams. Samus knows her most reliable tactic of sheer firepower is negated by an opponent who can heal from whatever she does. In a short fight, Samus would have the advantage. One energy tank done to each of them would leave Samus the same but with one less energy tank and Kanden temporarily incapacitated. In a long fight, such as the one that would result from fighting Kanden in a small room while he's decided to hunt you down, Samus would be permanently hampered as she lost energy, while Kanden would quickly recover. The imbalance wouldn't show immediately, but Kanden would eventually win and Samus knows this.

With her strength, it's true she pulled the Vorash around in the-game-which-shall-not-be-named. While I did leave her with significantly above-human strength, she's not nearly that strong. That was a multiton creature she had to pull out of lava, which tends to be dense and heavy. If I left her that strong, she could just slap Kanden and watch as his organs exploded out of his liquidated skull. As it is, Kanden is stronger than her in terms of physical strength, as well as being heavy enough that he would crack stone floors if he didn't walk carefully. Plus, Samus wasn't in a good position to brace herself against anything. Your limbs alone tend to be less strong than if you can combine their movement with your other muscle clusters.

As to how the shields work: There are a few things that have been shown to set off the shield. The first is toxic or corrosive material, such as Dark Aether's atmosphere or the toxic water of Tallon IV. The next is high energy sources, such as lasers or fire. The last is high powered impacts, such as melee weapons. The Varia suit is specifically designed to counter high heat sources, such as convection from lava. The Gravity suit, though not shown, could probably stop her from being crushed on high gravity planets. Even so, it does have some weaknesses. It doesn't activate to protect against the radiation and heat from sunlight, and it doesn't activate to shield against slow moving objects, such as when she pushes buttons or her feet hit the ground while walking. Since it doesn't activate to protect against such minor things, it wouldn't activate when a slow moving object moved closer to her armor. By the time the threat analysis realized the problem, the blade was already past the shields.

So this was the finale of Upgrade! Thank you to every one who favorited, followed, and commented, with special thanks to Red fiend for all the feed back, I really appreciate the help. If you've player _Metroid Prime: Hunters_ , you probably have an idea of what may come in the future. I hope you think my future works are worth following as well. Thank you!

As always, please leave reviews for feedback.


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